Tugging On My Heartstrings
by surugasasa
Summary: Shin Sera has returned from England to live with her mother. She transfers to Rikkai and gets tangled up with the tennis team before running into a whole bunch of other trouble including crazy fan girls and a wicked love song.
1. Shin Sera

**Hello, guys! I have decided to revise some of the chapters that I wrote for this story since I feel that it's not going into the direction I want. I also want to fix my OC since I don't want her to seem SOOOOO perfect that people are going to fall left and right for her. I'm planning to add fillers between the original chapters to show the development of Sera's relationships with her friends and other people. Please enjoy! And remember that reviews, comments, and advice are always welcomed!**

* * *

There was so much buzz at Rikkai Dai Fuzoku. First and foremost, Yukimura Seiichi was coming back to school after recovering from Guillain-Barre Syndrome which paralyzed his limbs. Secondly, the Tennis National Tournament was going to begin within a few months. Third, there was a new transfer student from England. Was it a boy? Was it a girl? Were they hot? Were they ugly? The rumor mill at Rikkai was running wild. After all, a transfer student so late in the year was unheard of!

Kirihara Akaya sighed as he banged his head against his desk. He was happy Yukimura-buchou was back and kicking it so to speak…but he did not appreciate the training from hell that his captain enforced immediately after he came out of the hospital. Although Yukimura was not exactly pissed at how Rikkai got second place in the Kanto Tournament, he was not happy either. Yukimura pushed the team to the limits with the crazy number of laps that he ordered Sanada-fukubuchou to give the tennis club members.

Worst of all, he was in English class…his worst and most hated subject!

What else could be worse?

At that precise moment, the door to the classroom opened and in walked the English teacher with a girl. Akaya squinted his eyes to get a closer look at the girl since he sat towards the back of the classroom. She was not too tall or not too short. She had long straight purple hair and bright amber colored eyes. She was very pretty, he realized.

"Hello, everyone. This is Shin Sera," Nakamura-sensei said to her students as they stared at the transfer student with a mixture of emotions on their faces. She turned to Sera. "Please introduce yourself and feel free to share some things about you." To further encourage the shy girl, Nakamura-sensei gave her a big smile. The girl returned it with her own soft smile.

Sera took a deep breath before looking at her new classmates.

"Um…hi. My name is Shin Sera and I recently came back from England," Sera said in what she **hoped **to be a steady voice. Feeling her cheeks burn, she looked at Nakamura-sensei with a silent plea for help. She felt like a piece of meat while her classmates were vultures waiting to tear her apart.

"So, does anyone have questions for Shin-san?" Nakamura-sensei prompted her class. Immediately, a few hands went up. Akaya sat in the back as he watched the girl get put on the hot seat.

"Ne, Shin-san, what beauty products do you use to get such pale skin?" A girl named Fujita Mai asked the blushing transfer student.

"Ano…I don't use any beauty products except for sunscreen and chapstick," Sera answered softly.

"Eh! Really?" Mai exclaimed in shock. "Your skin just looks so pretty!" Sera blushed.

Nakamura-sensei pointed at another student.

"Shin-san, you came from England…so does that mean you are fluent in English?" A boy named Kimura Hiroto asked Sera.

"Hai. I was born in Japan and raised in England so I can speak both languages quite well," Sera replied, feeling a bit more comfortable.

"Oh kami! That is so cool!" A girl who sat next to Kimura said as she grinned at Sera who shyly smiled back.

"Okay, okay! Let's begin class now. During break, you guys can ask Shin-san any other questions you might have for her!" Nakamura-sensei ordered as she clapped her hands and directed Sera to sit beside Kirihara. "Kirihara-san, please raise your hand."

Groaning, Akaya bit his lip before raising his left hand. Sera's eyes followed to his form and she slowly made her way to sit beside him without giving him a second glance. Akaya glanced at her with his peripherals in surprise. That was the first time a girl didn't ogle him. Maybe the new transfer student wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Everyone, take out your books! Today we will be reading Shakespeare!" Nakamura-sensei announced as some students started to groan. Sera, on the other hand, chuckled. Akaya looked at her briefly before Nakamura-sensei addressed her. "Shin-san, do you have your books?"

"Hai, Nakamura-sensei," Sera answered before asking," Is it alright if I read?"

Nakamura-sensei smiled. "Of course! I love students who love Shakespeare! Please go to page 115. We will be finishing up A Midsummer's Night Dream."

Sera stood up from her seat and began to read a passage that was under Titania, queen of the fairies.

"_I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again:__  
__Mine ear is much enamour'd of thy note;__  
__So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape;__  
__And thy fair virtue's force perforce doth move me__  
__On the first view to say, to swear, I love thee…"_

The class stared at the girl in awe of her flawless English and smooth voice.

"Darn, why can't I be good at English like her?" Akaya muttered to himself darkly while letting himself go as Sera continued to read the rest of the play.

* * *

During break, a whole bunch of people crowded at Sera's desk. There were a large amount of boys and girls which was surprising for Akaya since girls always followed him wherever he went. He merely sat back and watched the show.

"Shin-san, your English was amazing!" A girl compliment Sera who said thank you in return.

"Hai, hai! Could you tutor me please?" Another girl asked Sera. "I am so sorry! My name is Minami Keiko!"

"Hello, Minami-san. If you need help, please contact me via XXX-XXX-XXXX…" Sera said as she quickly wrote her cell phone and email down on a cute stationary paper before giving it to Keiko who squealed.

"Thank you so much! You're saving my life! My worst subject is English, but I know that with you, I will definitely pass!" The girl ran back to her desk and grinned at Sera. "We will be great friends, Shin-san!" Sera smiled back at the girl.

"Shin-san," A boy named Norimasa Rio said to Sera. "Do you play any sports or instruments?"

Sera smiled at the question. "Eh; in England, I played a bit of badminton before I started my lessons in piano."

"Eh? That's awesome!" Norimasa stated as he looked at the ceiling in wonderment.

People continued to bombard Sera with questions before the break ended and the students continued their class. Soon, class ended and students moved on to their next class. Before he left the class, Akaya gave Sera one last glance before heading to the tennis courts.

* * *

Akaya forced his feet to drag himself to the tennis courts of doom that were ran by Yukimura-buchou and Sanada-fukubuchou. He mumbled as girls waved hi and bye. He ignored them and continued on his path to the tennis courts without letting minor obstacles get in his way. In English class, the new girl had read the rest of A Midsummer's Night Dream, so Nakamura-sensei ordered the whole class to get started on The Merchant of Venice. She expected ten pages to be read by tomorrow.

He groaned in annoyance. As if he could even get **one **page down.

"Kirihara! You're late! 20 laps!"

Akaya jumped up. "Ahhh! Fukubuchou!"

Someone chuckled darkly.

Akaya paused before looking at the person standing in front of him. "Niou-senpai?"

"Haha! You got that right, brat!" Niou grinned at his kohai.

Akaya groaned. "Let's go to practice before that really does happen!"

Niou laughed before following the seaweed head boy to the tennis courts.

"Kirihara!" The real Sanada bellowed. "You're late! 20 laps! Now!"

Akaya groaned before he started running his laps. After he was done, he walked over to where the rest of the regulars were. Yukimura and Sanada were standing together with Yanagi while Niou, Marui, Jackal, and Yagyuu were sitting on the bleachers next to where the Three Demons were standing.

"Akaya, I heard that the new transfer student from England is in your class," Yanagi said to his kohai who was panting and out of breath. "99.9% it is a girl."

Akaya blinked at his senpai. "Hai, Yanagi-senpai. It's a girl named Shin Sera."

Niou grinned before putting Akaya in a headlock. With a playful sneer, he started to choke Akaya. "So brat, tell me…how is she?" Marui rolled his eyes at Niou before popping his bubble while Jackal shook his head and Yagyuu started to lecture Niou on manners.

"Niou," Yukimura said softly as he smiled at the silver haired trickster who grinned sheepishly at his captain before releasing the junior ace. Then, he looked at Akaya. "Tell me, Kirihara, about this Shin Sera."

"Hai, Yukimura-buchou!"

Immediately, Kirihara began to spew out all the things he knew about the girl and what he thought about her. "She came from England and can speak Japanese, English, and Korean fluently. Her English is **great**! In English class, Nakamura-sensei let her read a play and she sounded so good! She sounded so professional. I wish I was as good as her! If I was a great at English like she was, then maybe my English grades wouldn't be so bad…"

Throughout Akaya's tangent, Yukimura merely smiled as his kohai told him about the new girl.

"Oi, brat!" Niou cut in. "How does she look like?"

Akaya looked at Niou before tilting his head to the side like a cute puppy. "She has long, long purple hair that is straight like a line and big amber eyes."

Niou moved closer to Akaya. "Does she have a nice rack?" His eyes gleamed mischievously as Akaya blushed and turned away.

"So," Marui started. "Is that her?" He asked before pointing in a random direction.

The regulars followed Marui's finger and their eyes zoomed in on a girl who indeed had purple hair and some bright colored eyes like Akaya said. Akaya's eyes focused in on the girl and he realized that it was indeed Shin Sera, his new classmate…with a boy. Kimura Hiroto. The school pervert.

* * *

After class ended, Sera tried to maneuver herself away from the people who had an endless stream of questions for her. With Mai's help, Sera managed to flee while leaving her new friend behind sadly. It was even worse, because now, she was lost and did not know how to get to the front gates of the school so she could leave.

"Shin-san, are you okay?" Someone asked Sera carefully.

Sera looked and saw a boy she recognized from her class. "Oh, hello…Kimura-san?"

The boy smiled at her. "You can call me Hiroto."

Sera blushed. "Ah, Kimura-san…no…um…Hiroto-san?"

Kimura smiled at the shy girl. She was very cute. "Ne, do you need any help, Shin-san?" He stared at her face, taking in the details of her big expressive doe-like eyes and her pink lips. His eyes slowly moved down and took in the sight of her B-cup size breasts which were pretty generous for a 14-year old.

"Do you know where the main gate is? I am lost and can't find my way there," Sera said to the 'nice' boy who she was hoping would lead her in the right direction.

Kimura smiled at her while thinking perversely in his head that he could totally get this chick. "Ah, leave it to me."

Sera smiled at Kimura. "Thank you, Ki-ah Hiroto-san."

He grabbed her hand and led her to the back of the school where the tennis courts were located. Even though the tennis club would be training, Yukimura was probably training them like hell that they didn't have time to stand around. He grinned inwardly as the sweet things he was gonna do to this girl. His grip on her hand tightened reflexively.

They were at the bleachers by the field now. He stopped walking and tugged hard on her wrist. Sera looked at Kimura in surprise.

"Hiroto-san, this isn't where the main gate is…"

He smirked perversely before moving close to her face. "Ne, Shin-san, would you please go on a **date **with me?" He asked her. Hehe, innocent girls like her were easy game.

Sera cocked her head to the side cutely. "Excuse me…but umm…what's a date?"

Kimura fell anime style. "W-What? You don't know what a date is? Every girl knows what a date is, and they **like **it! Come here with me!" He grabbed her wrist and tugged her along the path to a deserted part of the campus.

Sera tugged her wrist back and dug her heels into the ground. "Let go of my hand! I want to leave! Please let go!"

* * *

"Let go…let go!"

The regulars who were sitting on the bleachers stood up and watched the girl try to pull herself away from Kimura Hiroto.

Niou shook his head. "Yare yare…Kimura never learns…"

Akaya narrowed his eyes at Kimura. Kimura was a well-known pervert at Rikkai but leave it to the new and oblivious girl to **not **know that fact. Ugh…she really was troublesome…She still was his classmate who inadvertently saved him from Nakamura-sensei's wrath when she felt like picking on students. Whenever they had to read passages, she usually called on him to read. It was as if she wanted to hear him make a fool of himself. Argh! He ruffled his hair before storming over to the boy and the girl.

Yukimura looked at Akaya before shifting his gaze to Jackal who nodded and followed the second year. Niou shook his head before following Jackal with Yagyuu.

A sense of dread filled Sera as she desperately tried to peel her wrist away from Kimura. His eyes had a scary look in them. She did not want to know what was going in his mind right now. It was scaring her. He was scaring her.

Kimura grinned wickedly. "Come on, Shin-san…"

"Oi, let her go, Kimura," Akaya said to the shorter male as he glared at him.

Kimura turned and looked at the tennis club's junior ace. Kirihara Akaya. How he hated this little bastard. "No way, Kirihara…she's coming with me." He tightened his grip on the girl who whimpered slightly.

"It is rude to hold a lady back from her duties," Yagyuu stated as he shifted his eyes.

Niou snickered as he approached the lot and sneered at Kimura while Jackal stood next to Akaya.

"Let the girl go and we let you leave in peace," Niou said to Kimura. "Honestly, I hope we get to beat you up, you bastard."

Kimura tsk'ed before shoving Sera away from him and stomping off. He would get her one day, but today was not the day. Damn…he got all excited for nothing.

The regulars who were with Sera watched Kimura disappear before they turned their attention to the girl who was sitting on the ground. Yagyuu extended a hand to her which she hesitantly took. As she stood, the regulars took the time to 'evaluate' her. She had long, luxurious purple hair that sparkled in the sun and big doe-like eyes that expressed her every emotion. Right now, she looked a bit frightened, though. Moving on, her face was pale and smooth with no blemishes surprisingly for a teenage girl. She had pink lips that held a cute pout. She was the innocent type of girl which was an endangered species nowadays. All in all, she was very pretty. Extraordinarily so.

Yagyuu pushed up his glasses with two fingers.

Niou bit his bottom lip while looking at her B-cup bust size. _Damn she was one hot looking thing…_

Jackal merely looked at the sky to avoid looking at her generous bust.

Sera bowed to the four boys who saved her from that creepy Kimura. "Thank you for helping me…if you hadn't come, I don't know what would…have happened to me."

"Aww, it's okay! Thank Akaya here! Really! He came to help you while we just came to back him up," Jackal said to the girl with a smile.

Sera smiled back at the brown boy. "Whatever it may be, thank you." She looked at Akaya. "Umm…Kirihara-san…you're in English class with me, right?" She cocked her head to the side before saying thank you again. "You're so nice! I am so sorry to be such a trouble for you…please forgive me!"

Akaya eyed her uneasily. "Uh no no, it's okay…Kimura's a pervert…you didn't know, so I was just helping you out…yah know, we're classmates and all…" He turned to the side and blushed. "It's no big deal!"

"Ah!" Sera realized as she studied the other three boys. "I am Shin Sera! Pleased to meet you!"

"Hi, I am Kuwahara Jackal."

"Hello, Shin-san. I am Yagyuu Hiroshi."

"Yo, I am Niou Masaharu…" The trickster winked at her causing the girl to tilt her head before smiling at him. He frowned as she turned back to Akaya. Wow, that was different. Whenever he winked at girls, they would squeal before dying from blood loss via nosebleeds.

"Is there any way I can thank you guys?" Sera asked the boys in front of her. She really wanted to save them from that pervert. She could have been raped or killed! It was a big deal to her.

Niou grinned before sauntering up to the girl and hugging her from behind. Sera shivered before elbowing Niou and grimacing at him when he bit his lip. "Sorry…"

Jackal chuckled.

Akaya snorted but looked down when Niou glared at him.

"It is of no consequence, Shin-san. We were happy to save a fellow schoolmate from an unappealing fate," Yagyuu explained as he went into GENTLEMAN mode.

Sera pouted. "Are you sure? You don't have anything you wish for me to do or help you guys with?"

The boys said no although Akaya was thinking about asking her for help in English class.

Yagyuu wrote down instructions on how to reach the main gate before she ran off after waving to the boys who saved her.

Akaya watched as she disappeared toward the main gate. Then, he groaned as Niou wrapped his arms around him.

"Damn, brat…she was cute," Niou stated before walking back to the captain.

Yagyuu shook his head, muttering something about manners.

"Come on, let's go," Jackal said to his underclassman.

Akaya nodded before trailing after his senpais.


	2. Mother Dearest

**Thanks for your review Vindicated Irony! It gave me new inspiration for this story where I plan to add more drama…what's a good story without a few cat fights? Please enjoy Chapter 2!**

* * *

"So, Sera," A stern looking woman spoke softly," how was your first day of school?" She put her fork and her knife down before reaching for her glass of red wine that was imported from France. The woman had jet black hair and burning amber eyes that glinted as the light from the chandelier reflected onto the two females sitting at the long dinner table that was carved from mahogany. She sipped the wine for a few seconds before placing the glass back onto the table. Shifting her eyes, she stared at her daughter coldly.

Sera stiffened under her mother's gaze and shifted her body slightly. She sighed deeply before straightening herself on the soft, comfortable chair. She lightly cleared her throat. "It was fine, Mother…I have acquainted myself with the school and met some charming people…" She flicked her amber eyes to her mother, waiting for her response. To say her mother was frightening was an understatement; the woman was cold and callous to an extent, but deep down, she did love her daughter…at least that's what Sera told herself every time her mother left to go film a new movie or travel out of the country.

On the side, Sera's personal maid Aizawa Tomomi watched the interaction between the mother and the daughter of the household. Inside of her mind, she wanted to run out of the room and pull her hair out…out of courtesy for the young miss who was always compared to her mother's insanely high standards. In her mind, the young miss was a wonderful little girl. She was so kind and intelligent even though her mother did not agree; in fact, the woman hardly knew anything about her daughter. The mistress did not know her own daughter's favorite color, her favorite food, her favorite music…anything…The two females were tied together by blood and that was **it**.

"Ah…I see. Well, I hope you haven't been philandering with dirty people…it's _unsightly_," The mistress sneered as the swallowed a piece of the beef wellington that was laid out on her unblemished porcelain plate. "_Honestly_, I don't understand why you chose to go to Rikkai instead of Hyotei…Hyotei has **so much more **to offer than Rikkai…" Once again, she placed her utensils down and made a grab for her wine glass.

Sera flinched as her mother brought up Hyotei. "Mother, I was…glad you allowed me full rein…b-because y-you have never…l-let me choose before…s-so **please** trust my decision…" She whispered softly although her mother was able to hear her quite well as if the two were sitting right next to each other although in reality, Sera was sitting at one end of the table while her mother was sitting all the way at the other end.

Immediately, Shin Sae Hyun's amber eyes narrowed at her daughter who quickly averted her own amber colored eyes. "I have never let you choose before…" She repeated darkly. "You say I have **never **let you choose before…" She glared menacingly at her **one **daughter. "How dare you say that to me! I raised you from the moment you came out of me, and you claim that I have **never **let you make a decision before! You ungrateful child!" She grabbed her wine glass and tossed it towards her daughter who closed her eyes and waited for the impact. The miaid stood still, immobile. Thankfully, the wine glass hit the wall behind Sera instead of her. The red wine dribbled onto the marble floor as the glass shattered into hundreds and hundreds of pieces.

Sae Hyun slid out of her chair, breathing heavily as she tried to calm her racing heart. She stared at her daughter for a few seconds before walking out the dining room. "You! Go get someone to clean that up!" She ordered a random maid who was waiting outside the dining hall.

Tomomi rushed to the young miss and gently shook her shoulders. "Ojousama, are you alright?" She gently patted the young girl who sat on the chair stiffly before looking at the door that the mistress walked through. Silently, warm tears began to fall from Sera's eyes as she looked down instead of raising her head up. "…it's my fault…I always do something wrong…" Sera whispered softly, almost inaudibly, as Tomomi continued to pat her back gently.

Tomomi sighed deeply at the young miss' comment. Shin Sae Hyun. She was a Korean actress whose father was Korean and mother was English. Her mother was her father's mistress. They married when she was born, but they divorced after ten years which resulted in the cold, frigid woman now. Later, she became an actress who met a man abroad in Japan while filming a new movie. They became lovers, and then, she got pregnant. Unfortunately…the man left to marry his fiancée who was also pregnant and abandoned Sae Hyun. It was ironic that the mistress would share her mother's fate. **Hopefully**, the young miss would have a different future, a brighter one instead of the life she was living now.

* * *

"_Sera-chan!" _

"_Wait for me, Yoori-chan!" _

"_Oneechan! Hurry!" _

"_YOORI!"_

Sera immediately shot up from her bed with a hand to her chest; it ached. It ached _really _badly. She sighed deeply before breathing in some air in an attempt to calm herself. _Take it easy, Sera. One step at a time…1…2…3…_She grabbed her cell phone which was to the right of her where her nightstand was. **5:15 AM. **Sighing deeply, she placed her head within her hands and began to rub her forehead slowly and forcefully, hoping to get rid of her throbbing headache. Every time her mother came back from work and they had dinner together, they **always **fought.

"Why…why am I never good enough?" Sera mumbled to herself as she fumbled with her bed sheets. She turned to her side and opened her bright eyes, staring into the darkness of her room. "I learned to play the piano…I learned to play the violin…why is everything I do not good enough…" She shut her eyes as tears dribbled out from the corners. As a child, she always wanted love and acknowledgement from her mother. She tried her best to be Number 1. She focused on her studies, learned and practiced music...everything she did never satisfied her mother…All the love, comfort, and attention she wanted was given to her by Tomomi and the other maids…all she ever got from her mother was an envelope with money whenever it was her birthday…There was the cake, but what she wanted the most was to hear "I love you"…

Groaning, Sera sat up on her bed. She couldn't sleep…not anymore…Suddenly, an idea hit her. _I can take the bus today! _She jumped out of bed and turned on the lights in her room before walking to the bathroom in her large, spacious room. If an outsider were to look into her room, they would feel shocked…there were no pictures of mother and daughter together at all…

Two hours later, Tomomi entered the young miss' room to wake her up. She gasped when she saw Sera all dressed up in the Rikkai Girl's Uniform. "Ojousama, why are you up so early? You're all dressed, too!" She gasped. Sera smiled at her and grasped her shoulders lightly.

"Tomomi, please prepare some breakfast for me right now…I will be taking the bus to school today," Sera explained to her maid while placing a thick maroon ribbon in her hair.

Tomomi gasped again. "You plan on taking the bus?"

Sera nodded. "Hai."

"No, young miss! The mistress will get angry!" Tomomi protested while Sera grabbed her schoolbag.

Sera took a deep breath before looking at her maid. "Tomomi, **please**…" To increase the effect, Sera gave Tomomi her puppy dog eyes. A few seconds later, the maid stepped back and agreed to prepare breakfast for the young girl.

About half an hour later, Sera ran out of her large house toward the bus stop that was located two streets down from her house. From inside the house, Sae Hyun watched with arms crossed over her chest as her daughter left the premises. She sighed deeply before walking to her desk and sitting down. _That child…_

* * *

Sera hummed a cheery tune as she got onto the bus and sat down. She sighed softly before looking out the window; she always liked window seats. _Teehee…_She couldn't wait to see Mai and Keiko today…although she wasn't particularly happy about seeing Kimura again. Thank goodness those tennis players saved her…if that boy was planning on doing what she thought he was going to do, her mother would have forced her to marry him! Sera grimaced at the mental image of marring someone scary like Kimura. _Yuck!_

She looked up and then caught sight of Mai who made eye contact with her.

"Sera-chan!" Mai said as she sat next to the purple-haired girl. "You take the bus?"

Sera flushed. "Err…starting today, I have decided to take the bus…"

Mai chuckled at the embarrassed girl. "Mou! I am just asking you a question…I won't bite your head off!" She teased Sera who blushed even more before nodding her head a few times. "So, did you get home safely yesterday?"

Mai's question made Sera remember the whole Kimura incident. She proceeded to tell her new friend about what happened yesterday. When Sera mentioned the tennis players, Mai's mouth fell wide open. Sera chuckled at her. "Mai-chan, close your mouth…or else a fly might go in…" Mai sat up and motioned for Sera to continue. "Ah…so Kirihara-san and his friends told Kimura to go away or else he would get it…so Kimura left because he was outnumbered…"

Mai looked incredulously at Sera who cocked her head to the side. "Mai-chan, are you okay?"

"Okay, first of all…Kimura is a pervert that needs to get kicked out of Rikkai…there were rumors about him harassing girls last year, but I didn't think they were true…" Mai said as she face palmed herself. "Oh…kami…I can't believe the tennis players approached you to help out…" She squealed softly in order to not attract the attention of everyone else on the bus.

Sera giggled at her friend. She was being so silly! "It's not that big of a deal!" She remarked.

Mai gave her the 'Nuh-uh' look. "It is too! The tennis players, _especially _the regulars, are like…**worshipped** at school…I mean, it's awesome and all, but be careful…their fan clubs are out of control…" Mai explained carefully to the new girl.

"Aww…okay, so avoid the flowers so I won't get stung by the bees?"

"Exactly!" Mai agreed with Sera's strange analogy of calling the tennis regulars flowers and the fan girls bees.

Both girls giggled loudly, earning them strange looks from other students.


	3. Key to My Heart

_A young Sera sat on the bench located on the grand piano forte in her music room. She was absolutely enchanted by the piano. Lee-sensei was teaching her about Mozart and Chopin now. According to him, she was one of his most talented piano students. When he told her he told her mother about her progress, she was ecstatic and pushed herself harder to become even better. "I want to show Mom how great I am!" Sera thought to herself._

* * *

Once it was 8:30 AM and the bell rang, students at Rikkai shuffled into their first period. Mai had informed Sera that she and Keiko had the same classes as Sera which delighted the purple-haired girl greatly. It would be great! Sadly, Kimura was also in her classes…what a downer… Funny enough, Kirihara-san was also in all of her classes, too. Talk about Lady Luck…hehe…

When Sera entered the classroom, Kimura leered at her before he turned away to reply to a fan girl. Mai gave him a dirty look before tapping Sera to signal her to sit down. Nakamura-sensei entered the room and began to lecture about Shakespeare. Sera sighed deeply before looking to the side, making brief eye contact with Kirihara-san who looked back at her with an intense look. He turned away. Sera internally shrugged before turning to the front of the class and paying attention to Nakamura-sensei.

"Wait…so Kimura lied that he was gonna take you to the main gate…" Keiko said to Sera who nodded while Mai twiddled with her thumbs. "Then…he tried to do H-things to you…then, Kirihara…**the **Kirihara and a few regulars scared him off…" Once again, Sera nodded to Keiko who squealed out loud. "That's **soooo **exciting!" She laughed out loud.

Sera chuckled while Mai snorted. "Calm down, Keiko-chan! You're gonna tell the whole school!" Mai admonished her loud and obnoxious friend. Sera merely smiled and continued to enjoy the breeze that blew over the three girls on top of the rooftop garden. "Besides, if Kirihara's fan club finds out, they're gonna blow Sera's head off!" Mai reminded Keiko who paused before gulping.

"…they're scary…" Keiko whispered before curling up into a ball.

Sera and Mai glanced at each other before laughing at Keiko who looked very confused.

"Ne, is there a music club here?" Sera asked her two friends who were busy poking their bento boxes.

Mai thought for a second. "Yeah, there is, but it's not as prominent as Hyotei's music club."

Sera nodded. "I see…"

"Why the sudden interest, Sera-chan?" Mai asked her new friend, because she was curious. Keiko nodded in agreement.

Sera sighed deeply before chuckling. "I **love **music…I always have. Ever since I was little, my mother used to sing to me before she got really busy…I started taking piano and violin lessons although I prefer the piano the most. I figured that I might as well join the music club to polish my skills." She laid her hands on top of her knees and placed her head on her hands, looking over the flowers that were planted on the rooftop by the gardening club.

Mai smiled. "Sounds good to me!" She remarked cheekily.

"Same here," Keiko said as she munched on a fish cake.

"What clubs are you guys in?" Sera asked Mai and Keiko.

"I'm in the gardening club," Mai answered.

"I'm in the cooking club," Keiko replied before she opened her water bottle and took a large gulp. Man, she was thirsty…

"That's so cool," Sera said with a smile. "Hehe…everyone's so diverse…I like that."

Mai nodded. "Yeah, that means we aren't weirdoes who go like _Kyaa! Kyaa! It's Yukimura-sempai!_"

"Yeah, yeah! Or something like: _Oh my god! It's Niou-kun! Niou-kun, you're soooo cute!_" Keiko added fastidiously.

Sera giggled at Mai and Keiko. "You guys have those girls down like *snap*!"

Mai got up and dusted her skirt. "Come on, let's go find the music club."

Keiko got up, too, after putting away her bento box.

"Hai!"

* * *

Since Mai was great with directions, the three girls found the music club pretty quickly. Sadly, Mai had to go to the main office to get something from her mother while Keiko went to the cooking club for a meeting. Sera was alone, but she didn't mind. She was always alone before so this time didn't really matter to her.

Sera walked to the Music Club room and entered with a form that stated she wanted to join the club. As she got into the room, she noticed that there were not many members…maybe around 10.

"Hello, I am Shin Sera and I would like to join the Music Club!" Sera said before she bowed to the members.

"Hi, Shin-san…I am Sakurai Morika, the president of the Music Club…pleased to meet you and thanks for joining the club," A brunette with dark eyes said as she raised her hand to Sera who shook it. "This is Hamasaki Rio, the vice-president…" She pointed to a tall boy with short black hair and blue eyes. "This is Mogami Kyuuta, the treasurer of our club…" She pointed to another tall boy with red hair and green eyes. "The three of us are all third years, but everyone else including you are underclassmen."

"Ah, pleased to meet you all," Sera said again.

Morika turned to look at their new member. "Everyone here is on a first name basis, so pleased to meet you, Sera!" She smiled as the new girl smiled right back. "Ano, Sera, what musical instruments do you play?"

"I can play the violin and the piano," Sera answered with a finger on her chin.

"Wow!" Saiki exclaimed excitedly. "Another violin player! Yay!" His twin Daiki merely grinned as they both glomped Sera who started to giggle.

"Hmm," Morika mused. "Piano? We have never had a piano player before…this will be interesting…Sera."

"Hai…"

"Do you mind playing a piece for us?" Morika asked Sera who cocked her head to the side at the question.

"Now?"

Morika nodded.

"Right now?"

Morika nodded again.

Sera grinned happily. "Okay!"

* * *

"_Why do you like music so much?"_

"_That's easy…it's because music is what connects Mommy and me…" Little Sera smiled brightly. _

"_I see." Lee-sensei smiled back at his little star. _

"_Piano…piano…hehe…" _

_Then, the little girl began to play with the piano keys again, creating a haunting musical sound that echoed throughout the large house._

* * *

**Omake Half-Time: Members of the Music Club**

**Sakurai Morika**

**President who plays cello **

**Hamasaki Rio **

**VP who plays trumpet **

**Mogami Kyuuta **

**Treasurer who plays guitar, drums, and base**

**Shun Kaori **

**2****nd**** year who plays flute **

**Amamiya Ria **

**2****nd**** year who plays clarinet **

**Hino Saiki **

**2****nd**** year who plays violin **

**Hino Daiki**

**2****nd**** year who plays violin **

**Suzuki Harumi **

**1****st**** year who plays viola**

**Ichikawa Yuu**

**1****st**** year who plays drums and base**

**Kiryuu Takashi **

**2****nd**** year who plays trumpet **

**End of Omake**

* * *

Akaya stumbled out of Nakamura-sensei's office with a groan. She was upset about how low he was performing in her class…geez; it wasn't like he was happy about how his English grades sucked either! He shook his head and ruffled his hair with his left hand before stalking down the music department to reach his locker. Nakamura-sensei lectured him about how he could do so well in school and sports and blah blah! _Sanada-fukubuchou is gonna give me hell…_

Walking down the empty hall, he thought about the new girl. Shin Sera. She was completely naïve and stupid (even though she was better at English than him, he grudgingly admitted). She probably couldn't even tell her left from her right…Today was her second day at school, and Nakamura-sensei was already singing to the world about how great of an English student Shin was. _Well, she did grow up in England! _Akaya grit his teeth. _Stupid perfectionists! _If he were a girl, he would have torn out half of the hair on his head by now.

…

…

Akaya paused, tilting his head to the side. What was that he just heard? His ears strained to listen and zone in on the sound. He closed his eyes and allowed his feet to shuffle back to the corner where he walked pass an empty hall. His ears focused in on the mysterious sound. He could hear it…the soft melody that held a hint of melancholy and sadness within the tune…Even so, there was a light airy sense about the song that was being played..._Piano… _Akaya realized. His mind temporarily forgot about tennis practice and his frightening fukubuchou as he was so focused on minding the source of the miraculous music.

He paused at a door labeled Music Room 8. This was it. This was where the sound was coming from. He looked through the class door and saw **her**. Shin Sera…From his angle, he could see the way her fingers skimmed across the piano keys, her head thrown back in concentration. Her pink lips were parted slightly as her fingers moved continuously, stroking the piano smoothly, creating a beautiful melody that echoed throughout the entire hall. Akaya couldn't stop himself from pressing his ear against the door and listening to the music that she created. _It's beautiful…_

* * *

The president led Sera to Music Room 8 where there was a majestic grand piano. Sera walked to the piano and opened it. Her fingers trailed the keys, and she was amazed at how the piano seemed so glossy. It reflected light toward the ceiling and refracted it when it bounced down, creating a nice lighting in the room. The other music club members entered the room and stood toward the back of the room, away from the door.

Sera sat herself down on the bench and sighed deeply.

"Begin," Morika said to the new girl. "Play any piece you like." She smiled at Sera. "Whenever you're ready."

Harumi snorted. "It's not like it matters…she probably sucks anyway…"

The other members glared her Harumi who looked away when she noticed Sera staring at her.

Sera stretched her hands before she lifted her fingers to the piano keys and began to play one of her favorite songs from childhood that Lee-sensei taught her.

**(Note: The song is called And to the Gentle Sound which is from La Cordo D'Oro the anime). **

She closed her eyes and let her fingers move across the piano. Left, left, right, left, right, right…her fingers moved back and forth, taking note of G minor and G flat…It was all in her mind…her eyes did not need to be open to play the piano…The piano keys were engraved in her heart, and they always would be. _Lee-sensei…I can hear the piano's voice…it's flowing through me…_

Sera tiled her head back with her eyes still closed. Her fingers continued to press against the piano keys to produce the lovely music. The music members looked on as they watched the new girl play _And to the Gentle Sound _flawlessly without any error at all. The twins nodded in agreement that Sera was good. Morika smiled as she watched Sera continue to play the piano like she had no other care in the world. Harumi hmph-ed and turned to the side although her peripherals did focus in on the girl who was playing.

As her fingers pressed against the piano continuously, the chorus of the melody echoed throughout the room and flowed into the halls. It went from high to low and low to high and back and forth. Morika and the vice president closed their eyes, using their ears to focus in on the music and appreciate it even more by tuning out their other senses. Rocking her head back in forth to the melody of the tune, Morika hummed along with Sera's playing while Rio stared at Sera. Her skill with the piano was _exceptional_…he supposed…

_Yoori…can you hear this? It is the piano…what you and I loved…what you, Mother, and I all loved…One day, I hope the piano can connect all of our hearts together again…I love music…I love the piano…I love it best… _

Sera opened her eyes and smiled before playing the last set of keys for the tune before the music slowly died down.

* * *

Outside the door, Akaya was sad when the tune ended, but he straightened up after a few seconds. His brain rebooted and he realized he was late for practice. He cursed softly, glancing once more into the room before running to his locker.

_Sanada-fukubuchou is gonna kill me…AGAIN…_

He grimaced as he imagined the countless number of laps Sanada had in store for him.

* * *

**Clap. Clap. Clap.**

Sera looked up to see Morika clapping along with the Rio and the other members. Everyone including Harumi was clapping for Sera's great performance. "That was wonderful, Sera! Good job!" Morika praised her kohai. "Your piano skills are great!" Sera said thanks out of politeness before standing up and brushing her skirt down.

Harumi's nose scrunched up at Sera. "You were **good**, I admit…but not **great**." Then, she walked out of the room briskly. Sera just stared at her as she left before Morika pat her on the shoulder. "Leave Harumi be. She's always jealous of new talents."

Kaori rushed to Morika's side and nodded. "Yeah, she has an inferiority complex or something…but she's really sweet once you get to know her."

Sera nodded.

Morika extended her hand to Sera once again. Sera raised her arm and shook Morika's hand.

"Welcome to the music club," Morika said to Sera with a kind smile. "Let's work well together…"

The other members minus Harumi surrounded Sera and congratulated her. From outside the door, Harumi looked into the room to see everyone else crowding around the new girl. _That was me…that used to be me…_She glared at Sera before looking away. Harumi sighed deeply before walking off to her locker. _No use getting fired up…she's a piano player not a viola player…yes, that's it…_


	4. Oh, Shakespeare!

_After practice, Akaya hopped on the bus to get home. Sanada had given the team a pretty harsh amount of laps, so he was beat. Literally. Well, he mused, the nationals were getting close…it was only a few more months now. _

_He stepped onto the bus and looked for a spot to sit…Grandma…Grandpa…Drugged-up looking guy…Prostitute…ah…he spotted that familiar shade of purple hair…_

"_Shin, is it fine if I sit with you?" Akaya asked the girl who looked up at him with a hint of surprise. _

"_Ah, of course, Kirihara-san," Sera said as she moved her textbooks. _

_Akaya sat next to her as the bus began to move. "What are you doing so late?" He asked her. He had not seen her stay late at school before. She was the type of girl who would go home after school ended and there were no more club activities._

"_Today, Mai-chan and Keiko-chan needed help in English so we all stayed behind," Sera explained to her classmate. To other people, he seemed intimidating, but sitting here and talking to him was kind of…nice…_

"_Ah, I see…" Akaya said as he looked out the window. _

_Fifteen minutes later, he noticed that the girl fell asleep, her head tilting to the side. Akaya glanced at her before looking out the window again. Then, the bus went over a rock, causing Sera's head to land onto Akaya's shoulder. The boy twitched before looking at the girl who was sleeping peacefully._

"_Just this once," Akaya muttered to her although his face was quickly heating up. _

_Later, when Akaya had to leave, he woke her up. "Oi, Shin…Shin…" He gently shook her heads, waking up the girl. Sera rubbed her eyes and yawned cutely before focusing on him. _

"_I gotta go now…be safe," Akaya said to the girl before getting off the bus. _

_Sera only stared and watched him go._

* * *

_If I take one step back, they are going to take three steps forward. I don't want to get left behind._

_Someone is going to have to draw a line in the sand. _

_I don't want to be the one who has to do this, but I will if I have too…even though I am a coward._

_You know, I think you are the bravest person I have ever met. You get shot down, but you still get up each and every single time. Definitely…I think you are the amazing one…not me…_

_What do you want to be when you grow up? _

_Music…_

_I love the piano. _

_Piano. Piano. Piano. _

"_It is time to say goodbye…" _

"_Mommy!" _

"_Daddy!" _

"_Yoori!"_

"_Oneechan!"_

_In the end, does anything even matter at all?_

* * *

"I am assigning you an assignment regarding with Shakespeare. You will have to choose one of his works, read it, choose a significant topic, and analyze it…" Nakamura-sensei declared to her students. "I will be placing you in pairs instead of groups this time to see how you work under pressure with two brains instead of five or six brains." The majority of the class groaned at her second statement. Nakamura-sensei smiled before reading out the names of the pairs in class.

"Kimura Hiroto and Ogata Junpei…Rei…Mai…and Hanazawa Aiko…Norimasa Orika and Keiko…"

The class sat idly, listening for their names to be called. There were some 'Yes' and 'No' in the air when girls got paired with their friends or their crushes or when people did not like who their partner was.

"Shin Sera and Kirihara Akaya…"

Immediately, several Kirihara fan girls whipped around and glared at the new girl whose eyes widened in shock. Akaya merely yawned loudly, his hand patting his gaping mouth as he realized that he did not have to work with a fan girl. Also Sera also had the highest grade in the class, so he wasn't worried much. Apparently, she did not share his sentiment as she paled under the glares of his numerous fan girls who wanted to rip her to shreds.

Mai and Keiko glanced at their friend and prayed quickly to the kamis that they spare Sera.

After Nakamura-sensei finished calling out the pairs, she ordered everyone to get with their partner. Akaya's fan girls glared at Sera before they returned to their business. Akaya merely shifted his desk so he could face Sera. He yawned again. Inwardly, Sera winced. _This is going to be difficult…I can already feel it…_

"U-Um…Kirihara-san…what…what would you like to do the project on?" Sera asked the tired second year ace of Rikkai. She winced as she noticed the glares from all of his fan girls become more menacing. She was tempted to cross her fingers under her desk before flying out the window. "Kirihara-san?" She called him again. Sera frowned. _He's not listening…_

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Kirihara-san?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Kirihara-san?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"**Kirihara-san?**"

Sera grit her teeth and fought the urge to pull at the ends of her hair from the frustration. How short of an attention span did Kirihara-san have? Really, she was a patient and kind person…Mai and Keiko were a bit fragile and slow at English, but she pulled through all of their study sessions with a sweet smile every time. She never gave into the urge to rip someone's head off…ever…till now…

_No…stop…take a deep breath…calm down…_

"Kirihara-san, let's choose _Hamlet _for the project," Sera said to her partner as she smiled brightly which caused some of the guys in the class to blush and look away while Kirihara continued to yawn sleepily. "Since I am already familiar with the work, I'll leave it up to you to catch up." She dug her hands into her book bag and produced a simple black colored book with _Hamlet _inscribed in the middle of the cover. She placed the book in front of him. "This is a copy that you can keep…I already memorized the entire book, so good luck." Sera flashed him another dazzling smile before standing up and leaving the classroom.

Akaya merely watched her with wide eyes as she walked away from him. _Uh-oh…_

Mai and Keiko watched with mildly shocked expressions on their faces as Sera left the classroom. Then, they turned to the boy who was left behind. Man, he looked like he just got dumped…

* * *

"Hahaha…poor Akaya! You say you have an English project from hell?" Marui chuckled as he blew a green bubble and then popped it. "Aren't you paired up with that cute girl? Shin-san?"

Akaya hmph-ed, turning his head to the side with a cute pout.

"Nyahahahaha…she gave a book to Akaya for the project with the message of Do-this-yourself!" Niou said with a grin. "Puri~…"

"Akaya…what happened?" Jackal, the ever-understanding senpai, asked his kohai.

"100 percent that Shin-san is the top English student in their class…85 percent that Akaya's short attention span in English irritated Shin-san...luckily…99.9 percent that Shin-san will agree to work with Akaya if he apologizes…" Yanagi mumbled as he held his notebook up with one hand.

"Akaya…your English grade depends on this project," Yagyuu said as he pushed up his glasses.

Glumly, Akaya shook his head in agreement.

"You better hope that Shin-san agrees to work with you…" Marui added in as Yukimura and Sanada approached the group.

"Akaya…do not fail," Yukimura said to the junior ace with a bright smile which caused shivers to go up and down Akaya's spine. "In any case, let me…offer my assistance."

_Gulp…_

* * *

Fierce musical notes flowed into the air as Sera's fingers tapped back and forth harshly on the piano keys. The crescendo rose before reaching a sharp fall. The tempo of the music rose in intensity once again before the chorus spun around in a smooth roll. Once again, the music reached a peak before dropping down lowly…Then, Sera's fingers rolled across the piano keys again…

"Fufu…if I didn't know any better, I would say she's frustrated…"

Mai grimaced. "Yah don't say…"

Keiko nodded in agreement.

"Kirihara is cute, but he's not fun to work with…"

"Yeah, like Sera-chan said…it's like he has the attention span of a monkey…no wait…even less than that!"

The music club president and Mai and Keiko broke out in giggles before they stopped when they heard the sound of footsteps. They turned to see…Yukimura Seiichi.

"Hello ladies…" the beautiful tennis captain said. "Do you know where I can find Shin-san?"

The three pointed to the music room where thunderous piano sounds were coming from.

"Ah…thank you…" He said before walking towards the closed room.

* * *

_I am a patient, kind, and forgiving person…_

_Patient…_

Images of Sera listening to her fellow club members taunt and sneer at her…

_Kind…_

Images of Sera helping Mai and Keiko with English homework flashed through her mind..

_Forgiving…_

…

The door to the music room opened, so Sera stopped her playing. She looked and saw a beautiful boy with indigo colored hair and matching indigo eyes…Ah…this must be the rumored pretty boy…the captain of Rikkai's tennis team who was beautiful, graceful…and strong…Yukimura Seiichi…Sera frowned. _What's he doing here?_

* * *

**UH oh...looks like the shit's gonna hit the fan...Till next time, guys!**


	5. Not One But Two

**Hi, guys! I would like to thank Angelus S-R Dragomir for reviewing Chapter 4! Reviews are nice, and they make me happy and they make me want to write, because I know people actually like this story, so thanks for reading, everyone! Please enjoy Chapter 5 which I dedicate to you all. :])**

* * *

The beautiful boy smiled gently at Sera who shivered subconsciously.

_Beware of the devil in disguise…_

"Hello, Shin-san," Yukimura spoke calmly in his soft, smooth voice. It sent shivers up and down Sera's spine, and no, it was not because the boy speaking to her was ethereally beautiful; it was because Sera could feel something coming…something **bad**...She gulped.

"U-Um…hi…" Sera bit out nervously as she waited for the male to say what he wanted to say. She had heard the rumors surrounding the famous Child of God who led the Rikkai Tennis Club to Nationals twice in a row and won. She also heard about his fall from grace due to his disease which should be cured now…and she also heard about his rise to glory once again…The males in the school feared him like he was Zeus or something and the females in the school worshipped the ground he stepped on. Yukimura Seiichi was someone that should **not **be trifled with.

"I am Yukimura Seiichi," He introduced himself politely. Then, he extended a hand to Sera who looked at it hesitantly like it was a clawed hand from hell that was going to rip her into thin ribbons. Sera bit her bottom lip before she reached her hand to shake his hand for a total of three seconds before she subtly brought her hand back to her side.

"A-Ah yes, I have heard of you, Yukimura-san," Sera said to the upperclassman. Why was he here? What was so special about her that the so-called Child of God had to come and see her?

"I hope that your time at Rikkai has been well so far…I would hate for you to dislike spending time here," Yukimura crooned sweetly at Sera with a gentle look in his eyes. "After all, as your senpai and a member of the school, I would like to extend my assistance to you…anytime you need it…"

Sera smiled awkwardly. "A-Ah…um…thank you, Yukimura-san…it is nice for you to offer your assistance…but it is okay…I am doing well." Inside Sera's mind, she was wondering why he was here…This was **so **awkward…

_What does he want?_

"Haha…it is alright, dear…I would hate for you to be hounded by cretins like Kimura again…" Yukimura joked as he gave Sera another dazzling smile that seemed too bright for the new girl. "I want your time at Rikkai to be as happy and safe as possible."

"Thank you, Yukimura-san, for your concern…but…"

"Speaking of which, how are your classes?" Yukimura cut her off with a sweet smile on his face with his eyes closed.

Sera gawked at the pretty boy. _W-What is this?_

Yukimura's eyes opened, and he stared at Sera. "Well?" He demanded – no PROMPTED – with a gentle smile on his face.

Sera shivered again. _Scary…_ "All of my classes are enjoyable…especially Music and English…they are very easy, so I do not worry so much."

Yukimura gave her another creepy – umm **gentle **– smile. "Oh, English…my, my! Did you know that Kirihara Akaya, the second year ace of the tennis club, is in Nakamura-sensei's class with you?" He said pleasantly with a bright smile on his face the whole time. "I have heard from a few sources…you two sit next to each other…correct?"

_What is it with this atmosphere?_

"Y-Yes…Kirihara-san and I are seatmates…" Sera mumbled softly, but Yukimura was close enough that he heard her.

He gifted her with another of his dazzling smiles.

"Oh, I see! I hope you can help Akaya with his English…the poor boy and that subject do not mix at all…Ahahaha…" Yukimura chuckled.

Sera gulped and continued to watch the Child of God chuckle..._I don't know why…but I feel like…something scary is coming…_

"After all, you are Akaya are partners for Nakamura-sensei's Shakespeare project…ne?" Yukimura posed his question thoughtfully, looking at the girl's face to gauge her reaction.

_So…that is why he is here…_

In Sera's mind, an image of Akaya ran through her brain.

_Ah, she understands why I am her now…_Yukimura leaned close to Sera and whispered into her ear. "You wouldn't want anything to happen to the Music Club, now do you? I have considerable influence over the Student Council and the whole school…your senpais in the Music Club would be most displeased…if your **personal **problems got in the way of the club's goal…"

Sera shuffled back from Yukimura with wide eyes. _D-Did he j-just threaten me?_

"W-Why are you doing this?" Sera bit out with a wary look in her eyes.

Yukimura chuckled.

The pieces started to connect in Sera's mind. Grades…club…sports…regular…second year ace…senpais…

Sera looked up at Yukimura, making direct eye contact with him. She fought the urge to flinch away from the intensity in his eyes. "You…want me…to work with Kirihara-san to ensure that he has a passing grade in Nakamura-sensei's class…so he can continue playing tennis…" Yukimura smiled at her conclusion.

"Bravo! You are a smart girl, indeed! Yes, you are the key to Akaya's continual participation in the club…You, my dear, are very important…after all, this project is worth a lot…" Yukimura said as he looked down at the girl with a gentle look in his eyes. "You are Akaya's only hope…besides, for someone who was raised in England, I am sure that you will be fine with our dear Akaya…"

* * *

Outside the music room, Morika, the Music Club president, and Sera's two friends Mai and Keiko tried to listen to the conversation between Sera and Yukimura. They grimaced when they saw Yukimura move to whisper into Sera's ears. They awed when Sera looked at Yukimura straight in the eyes and spoke to him. Man, she was so brave! They leaned closer to the door and strained to listen to the ongoing conversation.

Mai frowned as she heard _Akaya_…

Keiko grimaced at Yukimura's sweet voice…_Please say what you need to say already_…

Morika strained to hear what her kohai was saying to her fellow third year student.

"Hello," A soft and mellow voice spoke.

The three girls whipped around and gaped at the figure standing in front of them. "Y-You're…?"

* * *

Sera sighed deeply before she addressed Yukimura. "W-With all due respect...I-I appreciate the concern..."

Yukimura arched an eyebrow.

"...y-you have for my well-being, but I do not appreciate being threatened, Yukimura-san..I-I…" She stuttered on her words before continuing.

"I-I understand that you are worried about K-Kirihara-san and... that you need him to p-play tennis…but your threatening me to work with him will do nothing for him…if Kirihara-san does not learn himself…"

Yukimura continued to look down at the girl with a glint in his eyes.

"What will he do at the latter part of his life? You…may be here for him now…but in the future, he will need to…to do things…by himself…You should not baby Kirihara-san…doing so will make him feel like he can depend on you for the rest of his life…"

She looked up at Yukimura who suddenly had a thoughtful look on his face.

"Kirihara-san will not grow…he will become dependent on you and the rest of the team…is that what you want?" Sera said as she looked at Yukimura once again. She froze as he moved close to her again. This time, his body was right in front of her that she could feel the raw warmth radiating from his body.

Yukimura's mouth brushed up against her ear. "You really are interesting…puri~"

Sera's eyes widened before she moved away from Yukimura.

Suddenly, the door opened…and in walked…**Yukimura**…along with the rest of the tennis regulars.

The second Yukimura smiled pleasantly at the first Yukimura who peeled off his blue hair and laughed playfully. "Aww…you got me, Yukimura-buchou…puri~…I was having fun…" Niou grinned as he looked at the rest of his teammates…

"Sanada," Yukimura said to the tall intimidating male beside him.

Sera looked at the tennis regulars with fear in her eyes. What the heck was going on?

Sanada glared at Niou. "Niou, twenty laps!"

Niou mumbled before he turned to Sera. "Now, it is time for the real deal, sweetheart! Goodbye~!" Then, he jogged out of the room, leaving Sera alone with the boys.

"Yagyuu, follow Niou to make sure he does his laps…"

"Hai!"

The real Yukimura smiled as Niou left the room before turning to Sera.

"Forgive Niou for his carelessness, Shin-san! I want to apologize for his behavior…and Akaya's behavior…" Yukimura said sympathetically to the bewildered girl. "Please give Akaya another chance…he needs help in English, and you are his only hope…"

Sera looked at Yukimura. He looked so sincere…but still…

Sanada elbowed Akaya who scratched his head before stepping in front of Sera. He put his hands forward like he was praying and bowed to Sera. "Please work with me, Shin-san! I promise I will try my hardest to understand _Hamlet_! I will focus and pay attention…so PLEASE, PLEASE…don't give up on me!"

Sera looked at the boy with a strange look in her eyes while the rest of the tennis regulars eyed her.

_He's sincere about it…he really is…well…if that is the case…_

"…"

"…"

"You…"

Akaya slowly raised his head to look at the pretty amber eyed girl.

"You…understand…that this time you have to honor what you said to me…" Sera said as she looked at the green eyed boy. "You can't ignore me or go to sleep when you feel like it, because you hate English…you are going to work to understand this play…**we** are going to work together…but you will have to understand the play…with help…even though I really…shouldn't…" She looked at Kirihara who started smiling at her answer to his plea. "Is that okay?"

Akaya nodded his head up and down like a bobble head with a big smile on his face. He grabbed her hands and started to shake them. "Yes, yes! I promise! Trust me!"

Yukimura chuckled at Akaya and Sera who pulled her hands away with Akaya mumbling apologies after Sanada glared at him. Marui smirked before he blew and popped his bubble gum while Jackal sighed in relief.

"I will write out translations to the passages you do not understand and give them to you…if you need help, I can explain it…" Sera said to Akaya who nodded his head in agreement while the upperclassmen watched the two underclassmen.

"Um, can we meet up after school today?" Akaya asked Sera hesitantly.

"Don't you have tennis practice, Kirihara-san?" Sera asked Akaya bluntly.

"Yeah, so I can't see you for the project…"

"How about this…" Yukimura proposed. "Shin-san can practice in the music room until practice is over, so you two can head over to the café that Bunta took you to last time and study and do homework there…"

"That's a great idea, Mura-buchou!" Akaya exclaimed excitedly.

At the mention of cake, Marui perked up. "I wanna go!"

Jackal face palmed himself. "No, Marui…"

Sanada groaned while Yukimura continued to smile as the two second years looked at each other.

"Some days, I can ask Mura-buchou to let me leave practice early, so we can get an early head start," Akaya proposed as he scratched the back of his head. He really wanted this arrangement to work out. If it did, then he would pass English and be able to play at Nationals…He could and would NOT screw this up. Really…how hard could it be?

Sera nodded, agreeing with his idea. "That's great, Kirihara-san! I hope that all goes well…" She said as she smiled softly at the curly haired boy. "Who knows? Maybe you might discover that Shakespeare isn't all bad." The regulars chuckled at her comment; Akaya and Shakespeare…no way…it was like saying Sanada was into girls…

Feeling the direction of the regulars' thoughts, Sanada turned to glare at Marui and Jackal who grinned sheepishly at their vice-captain.

Sera turned to Yukimura who smiled at her. "Um…Yukimura-san…if you don't mind, can I continue my piano practice now?"

Yukimura graced her with another heavenly smile. "Of course, Shin-san…by all means, please continue…"

Sera sweat dropped anime style. "U-Um…"

Yukimura continued to smile at her.

"…"

Sera smiled awkwardly at the tall third year before she moved to the piano bench and sat down. _There's no use helping it now…_Her fingers grazed the piano keys, creating a mirage of sounds before her fingers settled on the correct keys that she wanted. Her fingers rose before they fell back down, tapping the piano keys back and forth, creating a strong melody. The chorus echoed beautifully before taking off and going down…the tempo went from fast to slow then fast to slow again…it was exhilarating…Sera threw her head back as she continued to play the song which sounded loud and boisterous yet happy and exciting…she was so into the song that she did not notice the amazed, startled looks of the tennis regulars who accidentally left the door ajar, letting the music escape the room and flow down the hall.

Yukimura allowed his surprise to show in his eyes before he smiled and took in the music that the girl played.

_Ho ho ho...Shin-san is not so quiet after all..._

Sanada looked at the girl, wide-eyed, as she continued to play the haunting melody that started to ingrain itself in his mind.

Marui and Jackal were shocked with the intensity of the music as Marui's bubble popped and Jackal gaped at the girl with an O-shaped mouth. Haha…looked like a fly could land in that abyss…

Akaya stared at Sera with a mystified look on his face…the music she produced was **amazing**…it was an awesome song that he never heard before…The music rose to a high then to a low…it felt like a cyclone with the way the notes rolled into unison, creating a blissful harmony…His green eyes focused in on the player as she tossed her head back, eyes closed with a sweet smile on her face.

_Amazing..._

This was his classmate Shin Sera...

* * *

Meanwhile, Morika, Mai, and Keiko continued to stare into the room by the hallway…

What the hell…

Morika's eyebrow twitched as she stared into the room…

Mai and Keiko bit their bottom lip in annoyance…

_Freaking tennis regulars…_

And that was why they were not hardcore fan girls…

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! **


	6. Early Signs

**Thanks for reading and reviewing, everyone! This time, I want to thank coffee who gave me another twist to this story…so I hope you all stay long enough to find out what it is! **** ENJOY!**

* * *

**Stay away from Kirihara-sama, you whore! **

**Get lost and disappear! **

**Go back to England, you ugly girl!**

**GO DIE! STAY AWAY FROM THE TENNIS CLUB!**

…**whore…**

**SSSSSSSSSS! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS? IT MEANS YOU'RE A WHORE! **

**S-L-U-T!**

**!**

* * *

The letters slipped out of Sera's locker and fell onto the floor. She frowned before she bent down to pick them up. Sera sighed as she finally collected all of the letters.

This was getting out of hand…It started about a week ago when she was caught walking off campus with Akaya to that café that Yukimura brought up when they went to talk to her in the music department.

_How troublesome…_

It wasn't that Sera wanted to be near Akaya particularly…they were partners in English…at least she only had one more week before the project was due…

"Shin!"

Sera looked up and saw the boy of the hour, Kirihara Akaya, running down the hall to her locker.

"Yes, Kirihara-san?" She asked him with a curious look on her face. Sera wondered if something happened to him…maybe that was what caused him to be excited. She twitched as he frowned.

"I told you to call me _Akaya_!" Kirihara whined as his face scrunched up into a childish frown.

Sera's eyes widened and her face shrank as she felt invisible eyes ripping her school uniform apart.

She raised her eyes and met Akaya's eyes.

"…"

Akaya stared at Sera who stared right back into his green eyes.

"…"

The staring contest continued…

"…"

Akaya's cheeks puffed.

"…"

"Say something!"

Sera smiled mischievously, something she normally did not do.

"You first," She prompted with a grin. Okay…so she didn't want to be near him, but she didn't want to leave either…Why did everything have to be so complicated?

"Today, Mura-buchou is going to let me leave practice early, so I will come get you…then we can go, okay?" Akaya said to Sera with a big grin. He was in the mood for sweets today, so he was **very **excited.

Sera nodded in agreement before Akaya grinned and ran off again. She turned and watched him speed off. Sera chuckled to herself…what a boy…

**Beep. Beep. Beep. **

_Ah…my cellphone…_

Sera dug her hand into her book bag and pulled out her sleek silver phone.

Ah. It was a text message from Mai.

**From: XXX-XXX-XXXX**

**Where are you, Sera-chan?**

**~MaiMai~**

Her fingers pressed **Reply **and she texted her location to Mai before asking her where she was. Sera also asked where Keiko was.

**From: XXX-XXX-XXXX**

**I am at the rooftop garden…Idk where Keiko-chan is?**

**~MaiMai~**

Sera frowned. That would not do…she needed Keiko's advice about how to deal with all of the hate mail from Kirihara's crazy fan girls. She texted to Mai that she got more letters…

Five seconds later, Mai replied…

**From: XXX-XXX-XXXX**

**WTH! I am coming!**

**~MaiMai~**

Sera sighed before replying with a simple "Okay" to her friend.

About ten minutes later, Mai showed up with a frown on her face. She reached her hand out to Sera.

"All right…give them all to me…"

Sera handed the letters to Mai who flipped through them quickly. Her eyes darkened with each message addressed to the purple haired girl. Her hands clenched the letters, crinkling them.

"What the hell…" Mai muttered darkly, her hands strangling the life out of the letters.

Sera slowly took the letters from Mai and placed her hands on Mai's shoulders. "It's okay, Mai-chan…"

Mai looked at Sera. "You call this okay? It's only been one week and you already have so much hate mail from his fans!"

At that comment, Sera sighed and looked to the side. "…"

"Does Kirihara know?"

Sera shook her head.

"Does anyone else know about this?" Mai said as she pointed to the letters in Sera's bookbag.

"I haven't told anyone else except you and Keiko-chan."

Mai cursed under her breath.

"Okay…don't tell anyone else…" She grasped Sera's hands. "We will figure this out together."

Sera smiled weakly at her friend. "…okay…" She wrapped her arms around Mai and hugged her tightly. "Thanks for being here for me…"

Mai raised her hands awkwardly and moved them to pat Sera's back. "Don't worry…we _are_ friends after all…"

* * *

The third years stared at Akaya as he looked at a tree. His eyes were sparkling and they looked like he was experiencing paradise.

Marui nudged Jackal. "What's up wih Akaya? He looks creepy…"

Niou moved closer to the two. "Yeah…what's wrong with the brat?"

Jackal sighed. "Don't you two ever listen? Akaya's going to the café with Shin-san."

"Oh! He's excited for his date!" Marui exclaimed, popping his green bubble gum.

Jackal shook his head; sometimes, Marui was hopeless.

Niou grinned. He walked over to Akaya and sat down next to the seaweed haired sophomore. "Puri~…" Then, he pinched Akaya's ear.

"Ow!"

Niou moved away and smirked down at Akaya who was rubbing his ear gently.

"That hurt, Niou-senpai!" Akaya said to Niou who merely shrugged his shoulders. His eyes watered like two big rain puddles. "Mura-buchou -!"

Niou placed his hand over Akaya's mouth and put him into a headlock.

"Don't you dare call buchou for help!" Niou hissed. Whenever Yukimura caught Niou picking on Akaya, he would make him run XXX laps, and that was **no fun**.

Akaya whimpered in Niou's hand before the silver haired trickster moved away.

"Soooo," Niou drawled. "How's your English project?"

Akaya blushed at the mention of _English_.

Niou grinned and moved closer to his kohai. "Puri~…"

Akaya's face darkened with each second.

"Hehe…"

Akaya turned his head away to the side to hide his blush. His thoughts traveled back the memories from last week.

* * *

"_Let's go, Shin," Akaya said to Sera who was sitting at the piano in the music room. _

_She looked at him with wide eyes. _

"_You're here…so early…" _

"_Mura-buchou told me to work early and finish the project as quick as possible," Akaya explained to the bewildered girl. _

"_Oh I see," Sera said as she moved to grab her book bag until Kirihara's hand stopped her. _

"_I'll get it," Akaya smiled at her as he tossed her book bag over his shoulder. Yagyuu-senpai told him to be extra nice to Sera by being kind and polite like a gentleman. If he was nice to her, then maybe she would not leave him alone to work on the project alone. She would work with him and hopefully, he would pass Nakamura-sensei's class from hell. _

"_Ah, thanks," Sera said as she moved to walk beside Akaya. _

_They moved out of the music room and walked toward the main gate. _

"…"

_Akaya fidgeted. _

_Sera frowned. _

_Silence is golden, so they say…in this case, it was plain awkward. _

_Akaya's fingers twitched, and he fidgeted again. _

_Sera pouted before making a decision. _

"_Kirihara-san –" _

"_Akaya," He corrected. "Call me Akaya."_

_Sera furrowed her eyebrows. _

"_N-No…"_

_Akaya frowned. "Why not?"_

_Sera sighed; how was she to explain to him that she did not want to become a target of his obnoxious fan girls that Mai and Keiko told her about? _

"_Because we have only met recently…it isn't decent for me to refer to you by your first name," Sera carefully explained, feeling like she was walking around broken glass. She inwardly sighed as Akaya nodded his head. _

_Around them, girls and boys pointed and whispered at the two who did not pay any attention to the pointing fingers and the stares. _

"_S-So, have you started reading Hamlet?" Sera asked the boy as they walked past the main gate of Rikkai. _

_Akaya nodded his head. "I asked Yanagi-senpai and Yagyuu-senpai for help translating the English." _

"_That's good! So how far have you gotten?" _

"…_u-um…the part where Hamlet returns home…" Akaya was slightly embarrassed because that was in the first ten pages. He had not gone beyond the first ten pages at all. _

"_That's great!" _

_Eh? _

_Akaya looked at Sera who continued to talk while walking and without looking at him. "You don't have such affinity for English…yet you translated ten pages with help…" _

"…_you know, Mai-chan and Keiko-chan haven't started on their project yet…you shouldn't feel ashamed…" _

_Akaya continued listening to her and watching her facial expressions as her lips pinched to form a pout. _

_Suddenly, Sera stopped walking. Akaya looked at her when she cocked her head to the side. _

"_Where __**is **__the café?" _

_Akaya scratched his chin thoughtfully. _

_Ehehehe…awkward…_

"_I don't get this at all," Akaya mumbled as he put his head on the table. _

_Sera sighed before reaching over to poke his forehead._

"_Kirihara-san –" _

"_Akaya." _

_Sera looked at Akaya with her amber eyes. _

_Akaya's cheeks puffed. _

"_Fine." _

"_Kirihara-san, if you want to, you can come to my house tomorrow night for tutoring, okay?" _

_At another table, Niou grinned at Marui and Jackal. _

"_She is getting her game on!" Niou said while arching his eyebrows._

_Jackal face palmed himself. "Niou…" _

_Marui blew a bubble. "I wonder…how will Akaya respond?" _

"_Eh? Are you sure?" _

_Sera nodded. "Of course. We can also go over the homework in class, too!" _

_Akaya grinned. "Okay!"_

* * *

He frowned as he recalled his brief meeting with Sera's mother.

* * *

"_Sera, who is this?" _

_Akaya turned and met cold amber eyes. He gulped. _

_Sera moved to stand in front of him. _

"_Mother, t-this is my classmate…Kirihara-san. We a-are partners for an English project,"  
Sera explained to her mother. _

_Akaya stared at the girl. Then, his green eyes flickered to the girl's mother, making direct eye contact with her. He gulped again; she looked like she was going to tear him apart to shreds. _

"…_I see, hmm…go do what you need," Sae Hyun said before she walked off, her high heels clicking and clacking on the cool granite floor. _

_Akaya looked at Sera who looked at the floor as her mother left the vicinity. It was strange how two people could look so similar but act differently…Those eyes…they were vicious like an animals' eyes…_

_He focused on Sera whose gaze remained on the floor. He reached out to tap her shoulder, making her jump and turn to face him with big eyes. _

"_Shin?" _

_Her mouth was agape, so she composed herself quickly. _

"_This way, Kirihara-san," Sera said as she walked off in the direction of the library._

* * *

"Akaya…Akaya…"

Kirihara shook his head and looked at Jackal who pointed to a smiling Yukimura.

"It's time for you to go, or else Shin-san will be left waiting," Yukimura said gently.

Akaya's eyes widened before he stood up and ran off after yelling thank you.

* * *

**From: XXX-XXX-XXXX**

**Where are you? **

**~Shin~**

**To: Shin**

**Coming from tennis courts**

**~Kirihara~**

**From: XXX-XXX-XXXX**

**Okay**

**~Shin~**

**To: Shin**

**Wait for me**

**~Kirihara~**

* * *

Sera sighed deeply, her hands clutching her cellphone.

_We should be able to finish the project soon…maybe two more days…then I can focus on practicing for the music competition next month…_

"Shin!"

Sera looked up; he was here. She stood up and walked over to him.

Akaya grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry, I ran into trouble."

"It's okay…are you ready?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go then…"

Sera and Akaya walked out of the room and into the hall.

As the two approached the main gate, three figures from inside the building stared out the window.

"Are they dating?"

"…"

"Looks like it…"

"Hmm…no way! He wouldn't go for someone like her!"

"…maybe…"

"What?"

"Well…he always carries her bag…and he tells her to call him by his **first **name…"

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"Yes it does!"

"No, it doesn't!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"YES!"

"NO!"

"Will you two shut up?!"

Silence.

Dark eyes burned like cold fire.

"No matter what…**always **check…he's a teenage boy…she's a teenage girl…they could very well end up liking each other…"

_Gulp._

"W-What?"

"No way!"

"Oh my god!"

"That would be –"

"Shut up! Has she told anyone about the letters yet?"

"No."

"She hasn't told anyone about the letters yet."

"…good…"

The cruel eyes glinted as lips curved up into a sneer.

"It will make our job so much easier…"

Then, the eyes focused in on the laughing boy and girl who were poking each other's shoulders.

"I want to see that bitch **cry**…"

* * *

"…okay…so Hamlet's mother is Gertrude…his uncle is Claudius…" Sera explained to Kirihara who shook his head along like a bobble head.

"So his mom married…his uncle?"

Sera nodded.

Akaya's eyes widened.

"Gross!"

Sera chuckled lightly, causing Kirihara to look at her weirdly.

"…what…?"

"…"

"What?"

"…"

Akaya grinned evilly.

"W-Why are you…?"

His grin did not falter.

Sera looked at him skeptically.

"…"

"Hehe…"

"…t-tell m-me…"

"Hehehe…what?"

Sera blushed. "…t-tell me…"

Akaya shook his head. "No way."

Sera looked at Akaya.

"Really?"

He shook his head.

"Hmm…fine…"

Akaya looked her in surprise. In the week he spent with her, she never gave in to him…so why now?

"No cake for you then!" Sera smirked as Akaya's mouth fell open.

"What?"

Sera nodded. "Yup…no cake…**for you**."

Akaya frowned. "Noooo…" He started whining.

Sera rolled her eyes.

* * *

"Yummy~~~~" Akaya broke out into a blissful grin as he ate a piece of chocolate tiramisu cake.

Sera looked at her own piece of strawberry shortcake trifle. She picked a piece and ate it.

_Sweet…_

She continued to eat the cake, looking up when she noticed that Akaya stopped moving his fork.

Ah…his cake slice was gone.

His green eyes zoomed in on her cake slice with a _Can I please? _look on his face.

Sera blinked.

Green puppy dog eyes.

She blinked again.

Still there.

She was going to blink again until Akaya bristled.

"Stop pretending I'm not here!" He whined childishly.

Sera sniffed before breaking a corner of the square cake slice. She raised her fork to Akaya's mouth.

"Eat."

Akaya looked at her strangely then he looked at her hand that held the fork and piece of cake. Inside his mind, he started panicking.

_I-Isn't t-t-his what the g-girls d-doo to N-Niou-senpai…when he…?_

His mouth opened to say "It's okay" but then wait…what was that in his mouth? His eyes looked up and he saw Sera's fork in his mouth with the cake going down the rabbit hole.

Around the two Rikkai second years, people whispered about how cute the boy and the girl were.

_Aww, how cute…_

_Her boyfriend's cake went goodbye so she was sharing with him…_

_They're so adorable!_

Hearing the murmurs, Sera pulled away her fork and looked at her lap with a red face while Akaya finished chewing the cake and looked at his hands on the table with a slight hint of a blush.


	7. Setting the Wheels Into Motion

**Hello, guys! Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you all enjoy Chapter 7. Things are finally heating up for Sera. How will she take the heat?**

* * *

"How was your date?" Niou teased Akaya who was looking up at the blue sky.

"Huh?" Akaya muttered as he looked at his senpais with a look of utter confusion.

Jackal face palmed himself as Marui grinned, blew a bubble, and popped it.

"Niou asked how your date with Shin-san went," Marui repeated to the seaweed haired boy.

At the mention of _Shin_, Akaya's face reddened, and he hid his face in between his hands.

His senpais laughed at him.

"Stop…" He whined pitifully like a small child who did not have his way.

"Puri~…"

His senpais surrounded him and started bombarding him with questions.

Akaya wept inside his heart.

_Mura-buchou!_

* * *

"Ne, Sera-chan, how was it?" Mai asked Sera who was scribbling something down in her notebook.

"How was what?" Sera asked in response.

Mai grinned. "Your date with Kirihara."

Sera's hand froze. "W-What?"

Keiko laughed at Sera who froze like a statue.

"I-It w-wasn't a date!" Sera protested as she could feel her face heating up. _Mou…this is so embarrassing…_

Mai and Keiko giggled at her response. "Hehe…"

After Sera "offered" a sample of her cake to Kirihara, they quickly finished up their study session and work on the English project before parting ways. It was so awkward that Sera forced Akaya to let her walk home alone; he was too shy about what happened at the café to refuse, so they walked home alone without the other.

Mai and Keiko stood up.

"Well, I am going to go now, Sera," Mai said. "Time to prepare!"

Keiko nodded. "Me, too!"

Sera blinked. "Eh?"

"For the first cultural festival of the year!"

_Ah…now I remember…the cultural festival where the Music Club will perform for the opening…_

* * *

Strong, melodious musical notes echoed throughout the small music room as Sera practiced a song on the beloved piano. The chorus sounded sweet and gentle in comparison to the bittersweet and sad high notes that followed which culminated in a sad love song that Sera played.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Her fingers stopped and she froze, slowly turning around to see Harumi-san from the Music Club.

"…H-Harumi-san…?"

The stoic girl looked at the newbie with a cold stare.

"Your music sounds decent…"

"…u-um…t-thank you…"

Harumi snorted. "Don't take this the wrong way; I don't like you but I will put up with you…"

Sera smiled softly at the last part of Harumi's statement. "Okay then."

She looked up and smiled at her fellow club member. "That's good enough."

Harumi looked at the purple haired girl before frowning. "You…you're weird."

She turned to leave before she stopped and turned around.

"Hey…"

"Yes?" Sera asked in curiosity.

"Those two girls…"

"Eh?"

"Those two girls…they're bad news…leave them…"

Then, Harumi walked out the door before gently closing it shut.

"Huh?"

Sera looked at the door after Harumi left.

_What was that about?_

She shook it off and continued to play, the music echoing throughout the room once again.

* * *

"Oi, Akaya, you're not meeting with Shin-san today?" Jackal asked his kohai with concern.

The boy in question merely shrugged. "Nope. We're meeting at her house tomorrow."

Niou grinned before wiggling his eyebrows at Akaya who started to blush.

Marui sighed before blowing a bubble.

Sanada grunted.

Yanagi and Yagyuu were discussing the upcoming festival.

Yukimura smiled at his teammates.

"It's not like that!" Akaya protested like a little boy caught doing something he shouldn't have done. "I am just going to her house…because…because…"

Niou leered at Akaya mischievously. "Because of what?"

"…"

Akaya twiddled with his fingers.

"Shin's mom…she's against Shin going to a boy's house…"

"Eh?"

"She also said something about improper behavior to Shin, so…so…"

Jackal placed an arm of Niou's shoulder.

"It's okay Akaya…you can stop now…"

"Yes, Akaya…Niou was playing around…" Yukimura said with a gentle smile before turning to the trickster. "…weren't you Niou?"

Niou shrank back. "Yes…"

Yukimura smiled again. "Good."

His blue eyes flicked to his kohai who looked deep in thought.

"Akaya, what's wrong?"

The seaweed haired boy looked at his captain before frowning and turning away.

"Akaya…you can tell me…" Yukimura gently coaxed the boy.

"The green eyed boy looked at him before sighing.

"Mura-buchou…it's just…it's just…well…I think of her sometimes…"

"Shin-san?"

Akaya nodded.

"Her mom is always so cold to her…but all she does is smile away…like…like it's nothing!"

Silence filled the room as Yukimura looked at Akaya and signaled for him to continue.

"The first time I met her mom…she was so distant…I mean…I can't say much…my parents are hardly home, too…but…"

"Go on."

Akaya looked at Yukimura straight in the eyes.

"Shin and her mom seemed so distant…and far apart…I wondered so many times…"

"About what, Akaya?"

"Why does she keep smiling?"

Akaya frowned and rubbed his eyes.

"I always want to ask her…but I don't know…it would be rude like Yagyuu-senpai said…to pry…"

"Ah, Akaya…you care for Shin-san," Yukimura pointed out at the boy who merely nodded.

"She's so nice and patient! She always helps me when I don't get something in English…"

"That _is _kind," Niou snickered.

Akaya ignored his senpai and continued to express his thoughts, courtesy of Yukimura.

"I…I want to help her smile…"

Yukimura smiled at the lost boy look on Akaya's face.

"Akaya, the best thing for you to do that would help Shin-san is to be a good friend and stay by her side," Yukimura said to Akaya who looked like he was listening intently to his captain like a good boy.

"She needs a good friend."

"Eh? She already has friends."

"Haha…I know, but still…everyone needs an extra friend or two to help them relax by doing something fun."

Akaya's eyes widened. "Oh…okay! I get it now, Mura-buchou!"

He got up and ran off after yelling out "Thank you, Mura-buchou!"

Yukimura chuckled softly.

* * *

In a dark room located in Rikkai's home economics department, three figures sat at a round table.

"She is starting to like him…"

"Oh?"

"Yes…they went on a date together…"

"Really? I heard it was for a meeting about school."

"No…"

"Yes, it was, but regardless, she is beginning to develop feelings for him…"

"…ha…ha…hahahaha…this is hilarious!"

A few seconds later, the laughing stopped.

"…**that bitch**…"

"Hey…I have an idea…"

"What is it?"

Evil smile.

"We need to have a _discussion _with Kimura Hiroto."

* * *

Akaya breathed heavily as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Next person!" He shouted as the person in the other side of the court walked off to rest before someone else took his place.

The boy served and Akaya returned it before the two tennis players began to rally back and forth.

"Wah…Akaya looks serious," Marui commented as he blew a bubble and popped it.

"Hm…" Yukimura looked at the boy in question with fingers tapered on his chin.

"Puri~…"

"Does anyone know anything?" Jackal asked as they all studied their underclassmen.

Yagyuu pushed his glasses up with two fingers. "Akaya-kun asked me to help him translate the rest of the play…something about how he needed to get ready for tomorrow…"

Everyone looked at him strangely.

"Well?"

Yagyuu sighed. "We completed the translations."

Everyone turned to look at Akaya who was still on the tennis courts.

"…" Sanada crossed his arms over his chest.

* * *

**The following day…**

Sera sighed as she looked up from her notebook and gazed at the clear blue sky.

_Mom went to Korea yesterday…it is going to be me…and Kirihara-san today…hopefully, we can finish the project…_

Kirihara Akaya. He was so strange. An enigma. He acted like a child most of the time…even so, he was still kind and understanding…

_Even after seeing Mom and I…he still hasn't asked anything…thank god…_

"Ojousama, Kirihara-san is here…he requests your presence at the front door…" Tomomi said as she bowed.

"Ah…thank you," Sera said, getting up and making her way to the first floor.

After a few minutes, she reached the front door to the enormous home her mother bought in Kanagawa.

She noticed the familiar shape of seaweed on his head. Then, her eyes traveled down from his head to the rest of his body. He was in a brown t-shirt with a violet sweater over it and some black pants with a pair of tennis shoes.

_Ah…American Converses…_

"Kirihara-san?"

He reached out and grabbed her arm with a slight blush. She looked cute in her white turtleneck and plaid violet skirt.

"Let's go," He said before he started to drag her out of the house and away from the door.

"Ojousama!"

Tomomi ran off to get the security guards.

_Eh?_

"Eh? Go where?"

Akaya turned back and grinned at her. "Somewhere fun."

Sera twisted around and tried to pull away from him.

"W-What about the project?"

Akaya smiled at her. "I asked Yagyuu-senpai to help me…I finally finished the book."

Her eyes widened.

_That was…unexpected…_

"I figured we have time, so let's go have fun today," Akaya said before his arm moved down to her wrist and he tugged her along. _She totally didn't expect that…huh?_

She moved to pull away from him again. "Are you sure?"

He nodded.

"Are you positive?"

He nodded again.

She tilted her head and looked at him, her mouth parted to ask a question.

He placed a hand over her mouth, muffling her words.

"Come on, let's go…I don't want to waste today…"

He grabbed her wrist again and led her toward the bus stop.

"Let go of the young miss!" Tomomi shouted as she tried to run after the two middle schoolers with two security guards behind her.

Akaya grunted in annoyance as he pushed Sera behind him.

"I won't hurt her! We are just going to do something fun today!"

Tomomi looked at him weirdly like he had grown a second head.

Sera did, too.

She looked at him.

_He looks so serious…_

Her mind made up, she turned to look at Tomomi and the guards.

"Tomomi, go back…I will return home later…please do not tell Mother," Sera said as she moved away from Akaya's back.

Akaya looked at her, surprised she did not take the chance to go back home.

The maid looked at her young miss for a few moments before nodding and turning back.

Akaya gripped her wrist again before she followed him to the bus stop, his grip slipping from her wrist to her hand. Their hands intertwined and he tugged her along onto the bus, sitting next to each other with their hands still held together as the bus moved.

* * *

**How do you feel like when you fall in love for the first time? A majority of people who have never talked to someone of the opposite sex are more open to expressing their thoughts. They open their minds and heart so easily to the other person, so they become vulnerable. As a result, it is easy for young people to get carried away. Smooth…right? Haha. **


	8. Interlude: Mommy and Me

**Hello, readers! Thanks for always reading and reviewing. Please enjoy Chapter 8 today which focuses on the dynamics between Sera and her mother.**

* * *

"Flight 216 is now boarding," A female voice repeated over the intercom for the third time.

Sae Hyun stood up and flicked her eyes to her assistant who was a young woman about 24 years old of age.

"Nanao, get my luggage onto the plane," She said to the tired young woman before she walked off toward the airport terminal designated for Flight 216.

Nanao stood at attention before bringing her boss's luggage after her. Huffing, she pulled out her cell phone and called for the security guards to come and help carry the suitcases.

Sae Hyun got on the plane and sat down at her window seat.

(Funny how Sera likes windows seats, too).

Nanao plopped herself down next to the famous actress before taking out her planner and reciting the plans to her boss.

"…meeting at eleven am once we land…brunch the…next day…"

Sae Hyun silently tuned out her assistant as the plane took off the ground and soared into the skies. Her amber eyes gazed out the small window as her mind wandered off.

_Sera…_

Purple hair and amber eyes appeared in her mind. Then, purple hair and grey eyes clouded the image of her daughter in her mind.

The 33-year old actress grinded her teeth in irritation before slowly soothing her thoughts.

_My…foolish, foolish daughter…_

Her amber eyes softened at thoughts of her young daughter.

Sera was so innocent and naïve. She was a child who needed protection. She could not be left on her own. She would not be able to survive life in the real world…

* * *

"_Mommy! Mommy!" A 6-year old Sera called out happily as she raced toward her mother's form. "Lee-sensei taught me a new song!" _

_Sae Hyun turned around to face her daughter. "Hmm…what is it called?" _

"_Tzigane! Ravel's Tzigane!" Sera piped up excitedly. _

_The tall woman smiled softly at her daughter. "Oh?" She was surprised; Tzigane was a difficult piece to master with its swift and repetitive chorus. _

"_Uh huh, uh huh!" Sera said cheerfully as she jumped up and down like a little monkey. _

_Sae Hyun chuckled. "Okay, okay…would you like to play it for me?" She asked, knowing that her daughter wanted to play the musical piece for her. _

"_Yes!" Sera squealed before grabbing her mother's hand and dragging the taller woman to where the piano forte was located._

* * *

Those were the good times…beautiful days where she and her daughter laughed and played together in harmony…

* * *

Her thoughts shifted to _Yoori_, her other daughter…

* * *

"_Mum…Mum…Mum…" Yoori muttered as Sae Hyun hummed around in the kitchen. _

"_Mummy!" _

_She turned and looked at her other daughter. _

"_Yes, honey?" _

_Yoori pouted. _

"_Play with me…Sera's with Lee-sensei, so I'm all alone…"_

_Sae Hyun smiled at her baby. _

"_Alright!"_

* * *

When…when did it start?

When did _what_ start?

What is _it_?

What is _what_?

_Purple hair. _

_Grey eyes. _

_Just like theirs…_

_Sae Hyun froze as she stood face to face with the man dressed in a formal black suit. _

"_It's you…" She whispered softly under her breath as the man's lips curved into a smirk._

_He moved around the desk and stood right next to her. His hand reached out to her shoulder, causing her to flinch and to move away slowly from him. _

"_Aww…why so scared?" The man mocked here playfully. "I haven't seen you in sooooo long…" _

_Sae Hyun shuddered. "…"_

"_Why the silence?" _

"…"

"_Sae…Hyun~…" _

_She turned her horrified amber eyes to the man. _

"…_you…what do you want?" _

_The man's smirk grew as he took determined steps toward her, backing her against the white marble walls. _

_White._

_Pure. _

_Infallible. _

_Innocent._

_How disgusting…I hope my blood will forever dye these walls…_

_She flinched as she could feel his breath against her ear. _

"_I…came back…for…my daughters…"_

_Sae Hyun's eyes widened; she pushed the man away from her and raced to the other side of the large office. _

_The grandfather clock ticked slowly…its tick-tocking sound making an eerie music. _

"_They're my children! They are not yours, you rapist!"_

* * *

When did her relationship with her daughters fall apart?

"_Nooooo! Don't let them take me, Mummy!" Yoori cried out, her little fingers reaching out to her mother and her twin. _

"_Yoori! Yoori!" Little Sera called out, her tiny fingers reaching out for her twin's fingers while her mother stood beside her and wept while trying to fight off the men dressed in black. _

_Sae Hyun beat her small arms against the security guards. _

"_Let her go! She's my daughter!" _

"_Let her go!"_

_The men placed Yoori in the black car and drove off…_

_And that was how Yoori went goodbye…_

Those peaceful days disappeared with her, too…

* * *

"_Mommy," Sera said to her blank mother. "Lee-sensei taught me a new tune…wanna hear it?" _

_Sae Hyun was still unmoving and silent. _

"_Mommy?" _

_Sera moved closer to her mother and peered at her. Her tiny fingers reached for her mother's shoulders. _

_At the moment her fingers should have touched her mother's shoulders, Sae Hyun drew back and slapped her daughter. _

"_Don't touch me!" _

_Sera's trembling hands slowly lifted themselves to her cheek where her mother slapped her, tears dribbling down her face. _

"…_.w-waaaaaah…."_

* * *

They were the two halves of her heart. Sera and Yoori. Fragile girls with such open feelings and delicate emotions. They were so breakable…just like she was…

If only she wasn't so weak, they would not have suffered so much…

If only she didn't fall in love with that man, she would not have daughters who had the same blood…daughters that would fall to the same fate…

_I am a terrible mother…_

She was so afraid…that is why she chose to become a monster…a monster who would teach her remaining daughter that the world is evil…

Sera would live…live the life she wanted for herself…

So, this was her choice…to show that a parent can hate their own child…while truly loving their child…

Her amber eyes opened, looking at the dark skies and the lights that came from the city.

"…Flight 216…arrived…"

* * *

**Your thoughts?**


	9. Sincere Feelings

**Hello, readers! Thanks for reading and reviewing. I would also like to thank all the people who out the story onto their Favorite and Follow lists. Since I have finished my summer quarter, I will updating sporadically twice every week or so, so look forward to it!**

**Enjoy Chapter 9!**

* * *

_This…This is actually happening, _Akaya thought to himself as he sat beside Sera who was quiet during the bus ride.

He actually completed _Hamlet _– that evil book be damned – and Yagyuu-senpai gave him good ideas for their project. He was actually prepared for English…for once…

The reality of it all was overwhelming for him since he hated English with a passion that rivaled his love for tennis.

He glanced at the silent girl from the corner of his eyes. She seemed content and willing. Suddenly, he felt foolish; what _was _he worried about?

Shaking his head slightly, he tried to clear his thoughts.

_Alright! Let's do this, _Akaya thought determinedly.

Sera was lost in her own thoughts, too.

…_I-I can't believe this…I actually went along with this crazy idea…_Sera thought to herself while her mind conjured images of her mother lecturing her about running off with boys.

_Oh…my…god…_

The brush of braveness and defiance that appeared when she told Tomomi to back off with the guards and return home disappeared.

Her eyes focused on the window which was to her side, and she caught a reflection of Kirihara deep in thought.

Sensing her stare, Akaya looked at the window and caught her eyes; he squeezed her hand reassuringly which made the purple haired girl blush.

**Finally **realizing that their hands were still connected, Akaya slowly released her small delicate hands from his tight grip.

Her hand slowly retreated from his personal space and pulled up to her chest where she managed her wrist gently.

Akaya rubbed his hands together, attempting to alleviate his nervousness.

Their eyes slowly rose up to meet.

Sera's face flushed as she melted under the heat of Akaya's gaze.

The boy himself was red as a cherry tomato.

* * *

In the back of the moving bus, Akaya's senpais from the tennis club were seated together with their faces hidden behind newspapers with O's and sideways D's cut out on them.

"Why are we here again?" Marui complained, blowing a green bubble before popping it.

Jackal grunted. "Wasn't it _you_ who followed Akaya around last year?"

Marui bristled. "That was _last year_!"

"Whatever!" Niou cut in. "Let's focus on the duty at hand."

"I agree with Niou-kun," Yagyuu stated, pushing up his glasses with two fingers.

"Hai," Yanagi mumbled in his robotic voice while one of his hands held a small black notebook.

"Mura-buchou and Sanada-fukubuchou are counting on us to make sure that the brat and his girlfriend have fun," Niou grinned playfully.

Marui groaned. "Yeah, yeah…at least we get to go to…"

* * *

"An amusement park?" Sera asked Akaya with an incredulous look on her face.

Akaya wanted to laugh at how wide her amber eyes were; they looked like two big puddles of water.

"Yup," He replied while grinning at the surprised girl.

"Come on, let's go…" He grabbed her hand again and walked toward the ticket booth.

Tugging her hand to make it comfortable, Sera looked at her classmate in surprise when he changed his grip to hold her hand like he was doing earlier on the bus. She flushed lightly while he continued to walk toward the ticket line with determined steps. Her amber eyes followed his taller form as the sunlight bounced off his hair and highlighted the dark black hair on his head.

"Two tickets, please," Akaya said cheerily to the attendant who pulled out the tickets after asking for the money.

"Eh…" Sera looked as he pulled out his wallet and paid for the tickets.

Akaya ignored her and pulled her along.

"Kirihara-san…"

"Akaya," He corrected her as they a few feet apart, face to face.

"…"

He peered at her with his green eyes.

"_Akaya_…call me _Akaya_," He repeated firmly.

Sera bit her bottom lip.

"…you did not have to…"

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You did not have to…pay for me…" She looked at him with wide amber eyes.

"No! It's fine! I invited you out anyway!"

Sera cocked her head. He came to her house, dragged her off…_that _was called inviting someone out?

"Anyway, call me by my first name," Akaya said again.

Sera mulled over his request. Her eyes met with his. "Eh, isn't that awkward or impolite?"

Akaya grinned, pulling his hands behind his head. "No way! You're my friend, and I'm your friend!" He declared.

Sera's eyes widened a fraction.

Seeing her reaction, a hand went up to scratch his head awkwardly.

He turned around to hide his blushing face. "I-I…I mean…"

"Ow!"

What the hell? Did she really have to hit him for taking her here?

He twisted his body around….only to see Sera bowing to him.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed seriously with her head tilted down.

"Eh?"

Sera slowly raised herself up, a pink tint present on her features. "I…I haven't had any real friends…in a long time…" She whispered.

_I…am the daughter of a famous actress…yet I am no more than a countrified young girl, _Sera thought to herself shamefully.

Akaya grasped her hands, catching her attention.

"It's okay…really…" He said with sincere eyes.

Her features stiffened at the sincerity within his green depths.

_Really…so serious…and sincere…_

Her head tilted down again.

"…thank you…Akaya…-kun…" Sera mumbled softly.

Hearing his first name, Akaya cheered, throwing his hands up in the air like he was doing banzai.

Grinning, he grabbed her hand and raced toward the carousel like a little boy who was going the candy store.

"Let's go…Sera-chan!"

Hearing her first name and the intimate honorific, Sera blushed and started sputtering while Akaya glanced at her and chuckled lightly while he continued running.

"If you call me Akaya, I get to call you Sera!"

Sera's cheeks puffed like a chipmunk that Akaya had to stop himself from outright laughing at her cute face. Wait….he did **not **just think she had a cute face…

"**Akaya-kun!**" She growled.

* * *

"Woah…I didn't know Akaya had skills…" Marui noted as he continued to chew his apple mint gum.

Niou grinned lazily. "He learned them from _me_…"

Jackal looked at Niou with unbelieving eyes.

Yagyuu pushed up his glasses with two fingers.

"I believe you mean _me_," Yagyuu said to Niou who shook his head.

"No way! I taught the brat how to get fresh with girls…"

Yanagi said nothing and continued to scribble notes in his small black notebook.

_Data…data…data…_

* * *

When they reached the carousel, Akaya tugged Sera along to the second floor of the huge carousel.

Sera's eyes twinkled when they came upon a statue of a large white stallion who had brilliant long hair.

Noticing the twinkle in the girl's eyes, Akaya nudged her toward the statue while settling himself on a brown spotted pony located to the right of the white stallion statue.

Sera approached the statue before she moved herself to sit on it carefully.

A few seconds later, the music started to play and the carousel began to move.

Sera closed her eyes as the music invaded her senses.

"_Mommy! Mommy! Look at me!" Sera shouted excitedly at her mother who stood by the gate of the carousel with a camera. _

_Her mother waved to her with a big smile on her face before pointing to something beside her. _

"_Eh?" _

"_Be careful, little sis!" _

"_Yoori?" _

"Sera-chan…Sera-chan…"

Her amber eyes snapped open as she saw Akaya gently shaking her shoulders.

"Mm…Akaya-kun?"

"Come on, let's go…"

He helped her off the statue and held her hand softly as they descended the stairs.

"…er…er…"

"Yes?"

Akaya scratched his head thoughtfully.

_Ah, he does that often…_

"Er…if you were tired, we didn't…have to come…" He said nervously with a small awkward smile.

Sera tugged her hand hard; Akaya looked at her with surprise on his face.

Sera blushed. "…n-no…I-I am glad…"

"Eh?"

"It's…j-just…the carousel…it reminded me of…my mother…" Sera whispered the last part almost inaudibly.

If he wasn't as close as he was to her, he would not have heard her.

At the mention of Sera's mother, Akaya's mind stopped running for an instant. Her mother…that was the topic he wanted to discuss with her…although it wasn't his place…

"…your mother…?"

Sera nodded. "Yeah…the last time I came to a theme park…was for my sixth birthday…after that…"

"Ah…I get it…no more visits until today huh?"

"Yeah…"

Silence.

_This is awkward, _Akaya thought with furrowed eyebrows.

Sera looked down at her feet, shuffling them.

"Akaya-kun?"

He looked at her. "Yeah?"

"C-Can we…go…on that one?" She pointed to the tall wooden roller coaster labeled _Ring of Fire_.

His eyes widened.

"Are you sure?"

A confident nod came from the girl.

Feeling surprised yet amazed with the girl's sudden brazenness, Akaya shook his head with his hands clenched into excited fists.

"Alright, let's go!"

Together, they raced toward the roller coaster's line, giggling the whole way there after Akaya slipped on a stray banana peel.

* * *

**Marie's Café**

The sound of fingernails tapping against a table echoed along with the noises on the street…beeping cars, playing children, barking dogs…

The female brunette yawned.

"Is he really going to come?"

The black haired girl sitting on her left side grimaced.

"Maybe."

The black haired girl sitting on the female brunette's right side made a bored face.

"If you're talking about Kimura Hiroto, he's right there."

Three sets of eyes looked to see the boy approach them with a grin.

"Hello, ladies," Kimura said smoothly. "How can I help you?" He asked with a lecherous grin.

The female brunette sneered at the perverted playboy.

"Save it, you ass."

"Oh ho…okay then…"

"Shin Sera."

At the mention of the pretty girl, Kimura's eyes narrowed.

"What about her?"

Smirk.

"How would you feel like if I told you that I can help you get her?"

Kimura smirked.

"Do tell."

"Alright…"

* * *

Sera gasped for air as she walked down the stairs from the roller coaster. On her side, Akaya grinned as he huffed while dragging his feet.

The two second years sat down on a white bench and took deep breaths.

"That…was…exhilarating," Sera said exasperatedly.

The roller coaster had so many twists and turns that it literally took her breath away.

Akaya nodded in agreement.

The sharp drops forced screams out of both of them, so he wasn't going to complain about her insane screaming.

"Hey, Akaya-kun, I am going to the washroom…I will be back, okay?"

Akaya nodded, and Sera walked to the nearby restroom.

Suddenly, he thought of something…pictures…the roller coaster took pictures of them after the ride…

He walked back to the roller coaster line and asked to see the picture of him and her since they were in the front seats.

The attendant agreed and pulled up the picture.

Akaya grinned when he saw the picture. He was laughing with his eyes closed while she looked like a cat who got dropped into water with her frightened eyes and long purple hair that was flying all over the place.

He quickly paid for two copies and put both of them in his pocket. He wanted to surprise her at the end of the day. He hurried back to the bench and saw her sitting there, waiting for him.

"Akaya-kun, where did you go?" Sera asked in her usual nice girl voice.

"Ohh…somewhere," He answered nonchalantly. "Come on, let's go over there…"

The two walked around the amusement park and checked out interesting exhibits like the mirror house and the playhouse. They agreed to skip the haunted house, because Sera had a fear of ghosts. Inwardly, Akaya was pleased, because he did not do well with ghosts either. He wasn't going to let her know that, though.

Seeing a ball version of a ring toss game, Sera poked Akaya on the shoulder to get his attention.

"Hey," She said with a bright smile. "Let's go there…" She pointed to the game.

Akaya nodded and let her lead him to the attraction.

"Hello!" The old male vendor greeted gruffly with a smile.

"Hi!" Sera greeted back. "I wanna play, please!"

"Haha! Okay, three balls for a dollar!" The old man said as he pulled out three blue balls.

Sera took out a dollar and passed it to him while getting the blue balls.

"Okay!"

She tossed the first ball at a moving yellow duck that rounded the corner near her.

Fail.

She sighed.

She tossed the second ball at a duck that was moving vertically from her.

Fail again.

Her cheeks puffed up in frustration.

From the sidelines, Akaya watched Sera with amused eyes. She looked like a kitten that got its ball of yarn taken away.

_Cute, _He thought fondly while gazing at her.

Ah, if only the boy knew how soft and gentle his gaze was toward the oblivious girl…His senpais, on the other hand, noticed and were contemplating ways on how to tease their youngest member of the tennis club.

Akaya's eyes widened. Darn it! He did it _again. _

His green eyes focused on Sera who threw her hands up in frustration after her third and final attempt to toss the ball at a duck.

He chuckled before he noticed her longing gaze at the large plush bear that was hanging above the vendor.

"Hey…give me a set of ten for that bear," He said to the old man who nodded after he pointed to the big bear he knew the girl wanted.

"Akaya-kun?" Sera asked him with a blank face.

"Shh…" He said shooing her away from him while he prepared to toss the balls.

Sera's amber eyes widened as each and every ball Akaya tossed hit a duck. After all thirty balls were tossed, the vendor rang a bell before handing the big bear to Akaya who grinned and said thanks to the old man.

Sera and Akaya walked away from the game while other people looked at them in awe for winning the big bear.

"Here," Akaya said while handing the big bear to Sera who stopped walking and looked at him in surprise.

"Eh?"

The seaweed haired boy turned around to look back at the purple haired girl.

"Seriously," He said to the stunned girl.

Sighing at her unresponsiveness, Akaya grabbed her hands and placed them around the large plush toy.

Her amber eyes made contact with his own green irises before he stepped back and pulled away.

Noticing that she wasn't walking beside him, he twisted his body around again.

"Are yah coming?"

Sera looked at him before she jogged to his side.

The two continued walking side by side with Akaya walking with his hands stuffed in his pockets and Sera hugging onto the big bear Akaya won for her.

"Akaya-kun…" Sera managed to say after a long mental debate.

"Hmm?" Akaya mumbled as he continued walking.

"Thank you," Sera said sincerely, stopping to look at him who also stopped walking because she stopped first.

She smiled brightly at him.

Akaya looked at her face, taking in the smile she graced him with. He turned to the side slightly, the back of his hand covering his mouth although if someone looked closely enough, they would catch the light blush on his face.

"You're…welcome..." He managed to say to the girl who he considered as his "new friend."

* * *

"Hehe…Akaya's resolve is melting against her pretty smile," Marui commented with a playful grin.

Niou grinned in agreement.

Jackal shook his head and sighed.

"Oh come on, Jackal! Yukimura wanted us to watch them, so we can know whether or not that girl is good for him…" Niou said to the disapproving Jackal who did not want to waste a Saturday spying on his youngest team member.

"Niou is right…There is a 90% chance that Shin Sera will actually help Akaya change for the better than be an actual bother to him," Yanagi stated while _still _continuously scribbling in his notebook.

"Yes. Let's wait to see how their relationship turns out," Yagyuu said calmly.

"Urgh…let's just move on with this," Jackal said tiredly.

"Aye aye, captain!"

* * *

"Hey, Sera-chan?"

"Yes?"

"You hungry?"

"Eh? No, not really…"

"Are you sure?"

Sera nodded.

"Uhum…I can go on without eating for a while."

"What?!"

"Yup…"

"Hmm…well I am hungry, so let's go eat!"

"Okay."

"Hmm…soba noodles or…?"

Akaya looked at Sera.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Err…I don't…know…"

"Ehhhhh?"

"…umm…you can choose…"

"Are you sure?"

Nod.

"Are you really sure?"

Nod.

"Seriously?"

Nod.

"Okay!"

He tightened his hold on the girl and ran to the soba noodles stand he saw earlier when they entered the amusement park.

Feeling his grip on her hand loosen while they were running, he tightened his grip causing her to reflexively tighten her hold on him, too.

The sun began to set in the sky, dying the original blue color a bright crimson red.

"Hey…it's getting late…do you want to go on one last ride?" Akaya asked Sera as the two sat on a white bench near the food stand they were at a while ago.

"U-Um…"

"You can tell me."

"Err…the…"

"The what?"

Sera looked up shyly.

"…the Ferris wheel…"

Akaya smiled slightly before standing up.

"Let's go."

He offered his hand to the girl who hesitantly raised her hand to meet his.

Once her hand touched his hand, he grabbed her and ran off toward the Ferris wheel.

_He has really warm hands, _Sera thought as her hair blew wildly around her.

When they reached the Ferris wheel line, he released her hand, feeling self-conscious about holding her hand.

Once they were in, they sat about a foot apart from each other.

Silence.

"…"

"…Akaya…-kun…"

"Yeah?"

"…t-thank you…for today…"

Akaya grinned cheekily.

"You're welcome!"

As their compartment reached the top of the Ferris wheel and stood in the sky with the setting sun, Sera could not help but smile at the boy who made her day today.

The two Rikkai students shared smiles while their faces were flushed pink.

_Thank kami for the setting sun, _both of them thought…or else their cover would have been blown.

_Today was wonderful._

* * *

**Chapter 10 Spoilers**

"**Hey, Sera-chan!" **

**The purple haired girl turned around to see the seaweed haired boy of the tennis team. **

"**Yes, Akaya-kun?" **

**He shoved a picture in her face. **

**She stepped back to examine it. **

**It was a picture…of her and him…**

"**What…?"**

**Akaya grinned at her shocked expression. **

"**It's a picture the park took after the roller coaster ride ended…I got two copies…one for you and one for me," Akaya explained to the girl who took the picture from him. **

**On the side, Mai and Keiko watched with incredulous stares. **

**When did those two get so close?**

* * *

**Thoughts? **


	10. Subtle Changes

**Hello, readers! Thanks for reading the story! I would like to thank diaaan for reviewing Chapter 9. **

**Please enjoy Chapter 10!**

* * *

"Good morning, ojousama," Tomomi greeted the young miss as she entered Sera's room to pull back the thick burgundy colored curtains.

Sunlight streamed through Sera's room, and she yawned out of reflex.

"Mmh…g' morning Tomomi…" Sera mumbled sleepily.

She sat up and let go of the big plus toy in favor of rubbing her eyes.

Tomomi chuckled lightly at the sleepy look on the young miss' face.

"You couldn't let go of that bear could you, ojousama?"

Sera focused her sleepy eyes on her maid before she looked at the big bear she got on Saturday that laid in her arms.

_Kuma-san. _

That was her name for it.

Her amber eyes softened as she continued to gaze at Kuma-san.

He was a gift from Akaya.

A gift from a friend.

Thinking about friends, she thought about Mai and Keiko. Were they doing okay on their English project? Did they need any help with homework?

She placed Kuma-san on the side of the bed before she got out of the bed and walked into the bathroom to get ready for school.

* * *

"Good morning, Mura-buchou!" Akaya called out to his beloved captain.

"Good morning, fukubuchou…Yanagi-senpai…"

The three looked at Akaya before Yukimura smiled at him, Sanada nodded curtly at him, and Yanagi mumbled "hello" to the seaweed haired boy.

"What about us…puri~…"

Akaya turned around to see Niou, Yagyuu, Marui, and Jackal leaning up against the tall white bleachers.

"Good morning, senpais!" He chorused cheerfully.

Yesterday, he went to Sera's house to finish the project for good. With her deep understanding of Hamlet, they chose a specific topic to expand on and completed it quickly. It was like he was turning over a new leaf.

"Pupina."

Akaya looked at Niou.

"Eh, Niou-senpai?"

A creepy grin appeared on Niou's face, slightly scaring Akaya who took a step back.

_Uh oh…_

Wait…what was Niou holding in his hand?

Akaya's eyes widened as he realized what it was that Niou had in his hands.

_My wallet!_

"Hey, bratling…this looks interesting~," Niou purred silkily. He opened Akaya's wallet while the boy stood frozen, shocked and took out a copy of the picture he bought at the theme park.

It was the picture of Akaya and Sera sitting next to each other on the roller coaster.

"Two copies…tsk tsk…what did you buy two copies for, Akaya?" Niou mused playfully although he had an inkling since when he took out Akaya's wallet, one of them was placed behind the film plastic for pictures while the other one fell out carelessly.

Marui stood next to Niou with a bubble in his mouth while he watched his kohai tremble.

Yagyuu shook his head while fixing his glasses with two fingers.

Jackal looked at Akaya and wondered in the trembling was from shock, fear, or possibly something else…

The Three Demons of Rikkai watched silently.

"Niou-senpai~!" Akaya shouted as he tackled Niou to try and get his wallet and the picture of Sera and him.

Scratch that.

He _tried _to tackle Niou, but he was too short.

Niou simply moved around while placing his wallet and the picture in the air.

Akaya tried to jump to reach them…but he failed.

The other tennis regulars chuckled as they noticed how red his face was.

* * *

"Hi, Mai-chan!" Sera greeted her friend with a smile.

"Hello," Mai replied with a smile of her own.

"Eh?"

Sera looked around back and forth.

"What's wrong?" Mai asked Sera.

"Where's Keiko?"

"Oh…she said she is going to be a bit late today," Mai explained to the purple haired girl.

"Oh…okay!" Sera nodded in understanding. Sometimes, Tomomi got carried away, so Sera ran late to school. Maybe Keiko woke up late or…

"Yeah, so what's up?"

"Oh so um…how are you guys doing on your English project?"

Mai cocked her head to the side. "Eh?"

"…um…your English project…" Sera repeated.

1 second.

2 seconds.

3 seconds.

"Ohhhhh!"

"Uhum."

"Well…my partner and I have started…we just need finishing touches," Mai said to Sera who simply nodded her head along while her friend spoke.

"Oh okay!"

Smile.

"Do you know how Keiko is doing on hers?"

"…hmm…I am not exactly sure…maybe you can ask her later?"

"Yes…definitely!"

"So, why the sudden interest?"

"I have completed the assignment in due time with my partner…so I just…want to help out…"

Mai squealed before latching onto the purple haired girl.

"You're so sweet!"

Sera blushed in embarrassment.

"…err…t-thank you…"

Mai chuckled even more.

**Later**

"Keiko-chan!"

"Hi, Sera-chan!"

"Ne, have you completed your English assignment yet?"

"Ehhhhhh…nooooo!"

"Hm? Did something happen?"

"My partner has been flaking on me…"

Mai growled. "What the heck? That jackass is so lazy!"

Keiko nodded in agreement.

Sera frowned cutely.

"It's okay! I can help you!"

"Are you sure?" Keiko asked her.

Sera nodded a few times.

"Yup! I _am _done with mine, so it's okay; I should have some free time to help you get started while practicing for the opening of the cultural festival in a few weeks."

Keiko nodded at Sera. "Okay! I would definitely appreciate it!"

The three girls smiled at each other.

"Hey, Sera-chan!"

The purple haired girl turned around to see the seaweed haired boy of the tennis team.

"Yes, Akaya-kun?"

He shoved a picture in her face.

She stepped back to examine it.

It was a picture…of her and him…

"What…?"

Akaya grinned at her shocked expression.

"It's a picture the park took after the roller coaster ride ended…I got two copies…one for you and one for me," Akaya explained to the girl who took the picture from him.

On the side, Mai and Keiko watched with incredulous stares.

When did those two get so close?

Sera smiled at Akaya shyly.

"Um…thank you…Akaya-kun."

Akaya chuckled nervously.

"Uh..ha ha ha…it's okay, Sera-chan!"

His lips slipped into a small smile before he could help himself.

"Okay…see you later!" He waved at her before running off.

Mai and Keiko poked Sera's shoulders.

"Sera-chan! What's going on?"

Seeing her friends' curious and inquisitive stares, Sera sighed as she began to recount her long day with Akaya to them.

She mentally flinched at their facial expressions when she was done telling them.

Mai looked like she swallowed a lemon whole, because there was a **huge **frown on her face.

Keiko looked love struck with pink hearts beating in the places where her eyes were supposed to be. She squealed and started to shake Sera's hands excitedly.

_Maybe…it was too early to tell them, _Sera thought as Keiko continued to shake her hands. She looked at Mai who seemed deep in thought with an unreadable expression on her face.

_Mai-chan?_

* * *

**Sixth period: English**

"Good afternoon!" Nakamura-sensei said happily to her students.

"Bet you _someone _had sex yesterday…"

"Ew! How gross!"

"No, no…coffee…"

"Um…no way…"

Nakamura-sensei cleared her throat.

"Excuse me!"

Everyone who was mumbling piped down instantly. A mad sensei was a dangerous sensei.

"Your English projects are due next week, so I hope you have been making good progress," Nakamura-sensei said as she walked around the front of the classroom.

Akaya and Sera glanced at each other; thank goodness they were done already.

On the other hand, some other people started to panic…they had not even started yet.

Mai looked at Keiko.

Keiko looked at Mai.

Both girls looked at Sera who looked back at them.

"Help" was written all over their faces.

Sera giggled softly, causing Akaya to look at her.

"It's nothing," She mouthed to him.

He nodded in understanding.

"After the projects, I planned on giving the class a test on Shakespeare…"

All of the students excluding the ones who were adept at English tensed.

Sera glanced at Akaya who froze up like he saw a ghost.

"…but…I changed my mind since we have a cultural festival coming up soon…"

Phew…

"You and your partner have to present your project to the class."

Some students groaned in annoyance while others sighed in relief.

_Hmm…that does not sound so bad, _Sera mused thoughtfully as she began to scribble a schedule into her notebook.

Looking at her from his peripherals, Akaya sighed inwardly as he mentally thanked her persistence that nagged them to complete the project early and beforehand.

In the back of the classroom, Kimura Hiroto leered at the pair from his seat while he rubbed his hands in anticipation.

_Soon, _he thought darkly to himself while tracing the inside of his mouth with his tongue slowly as if he were savoring some kind of candy.

* * *

**Music Club**

"Hiiiii, everyone!" Morika greeted everyone in the music club as she stood at the front of the music room.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"…"

"Hello."

"The cultural festival is coming up fast, so we have to prepare," Morika said while she looked over everyone in the room.

Rio nodded in agreement. "Kaichou is right; the dean is expecting _a lot _from us this year."

Sera looked at Harumi for clarification.

"Whenever we have cultural festivals…other schools are invited. Schools like Hyotei Academy where the music club is even more prominent over there…last year, the previous president made a fool of himself…" Harumi explained to Sera who nodded to show she was listening to Harumi's story.

"Needless to say, Rikkai lost face to Hyotei…so we have to redeem ourselves this year…"

The twins Saiki and Daiki nodded in agreement.

"Exactly!"

Morika turned to Sera. "So we will be expecting a lot from you, Sera…since you are our club's one and only leading pianist."

Everyone looked at Sera who suddenly felt awkward.

"Yes!" She cried out.

"Good!"

"Let's practice, everyone!"

Sera smiled as she watched everyone pull out their instruments and prepare to practice.

_Tap. _

"Harumi-san?"

Harumi held up one finger and motioned for Sera to follow her out of the room.

The two second year girls walked into an empty music room far to the left of the hall which was away from the rest of the club.

Sera closed the door behind her and looked at Harumi.

"Is there something you want, Harumi-san?"

Harumi slowly turned around after digging into her viola case. She held up the item that was bandaged together with a lot of duct tape in one hand.

"What is this?" Harumi asked to answer Sera's questions.

Amber eyes trailed over the thick envelopes with the letter S written in bold red on them.

Harumi frowned.

"Just because we can't be friends doesn't mean we aren't."

_Eh?_

Sera looked at Harumi in surprise.

"We people of the music club look after each other…" Harumi said evenly. She did not particularly like the girl, but family was family in the music club.

Sera blinked slowly.

"Do you know who has been sending you all of these?" Harumi asked Sera calmly.

Sera shook her head. "I have no idea, Harumi-san…these letters…I started getting them -"

"After you were seen with Kirihara Akaya from your class," Harumi cut in harshly.

"H-How do you know that, Harumi-san?"

Harumi looked at Sera with a strange expression on her face.

_One week ago _

"_That whore!" _

"_How dare she waltz into our school and steal Kirihara-sama from us!" _

"_Ugh! I agree!" _

"_Yeah, yeah! She acts all innocent on the outside, but I bet…she's a bitch on the inside…" _

"_Come on, let's go and put these letters in her locker before school starts…"_

"_Yeah, come on…I wanna go see the tennis regulars practice, too!" _

"_Hey, hey…what's her locker number?" _

"_Eh? You didn't ask Fujita-san or Minami-san?" _

"_Oh! I forgot!"_

"_Tsk! Don't worry, I asked Fujita-san, so we are, for sure, putting the letters in the right place!" _

_The mob of girls walked away to the female lockers. _

_Harumi stepped out from the shadows and looked at where the girls were sitting as they talked about Shin Sera._

"I told you last time…those two girls should not be trusted," Harumi repeated as she looked Sera in the eyes with her dark brown eyes.

* * *

**Chapter 11 Spoilers**

"**Hamlet Jr. was not only a prince and a future king, but he was also a son who had to fulfill his filial duties…which included raising his sword against the one man who killed his father. His uncle." **

"**Hey, Sera-chan?" **

"**Hm? Yeah?" **

"**Do you or do you not like Kirihara-san?" **

"**Eh?"**

"**Where is this coming from?" **

"…**I want to know…"**

"**Eh?" **

"**Please…" **

"**I…I…don't know…"**

"**So…you mean…there is a chance…you do like him?"**

"**Hey, brat! You should bring your girlfriend to my class's haunted house," Niou said as he leaned against Akaya's shoulder. **

"**What? No way, Niou-senpai!"**

* * *

**Your thoughts? **

**I was going to make this chapter longer, but I decided to make it less short in preparation for the next chapter which will cover the English presentations. **


	11. Unseen Tension

**Hello, readers! Please enjoy this installment of Tugging On My Heartstrings. I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks to all of the readers who read and review. I appreciate it. Please enjoy Chapter 11!**

* * *

Sera tugged her book bag as she stepped out of the music room and walked toward the main gate of the school. She furrowed her eyebrows as she thought over Harumi's words.

_Those two girls should not be trusted…_

Thoughts about Fujita Mai and Minami Keiko rushed through her mind as she tried to understand what Harumi was trying to tell her…and what was in front of her…

* * *

_"Ne, Shin-san, what beauty products do you use to get such pale skin?" A girl named Fujita Mai asked the blushing transfer student._

_"Ano…I don't use any beauty products except for sunscreen and chapstick," Sera answered softly._

_"Eh! Really?" Mai exclaimed in shock. "Your skin just looks so pretty!" Sera blushed._

* * *

_"Hai, hai! Could you tutor me please?" Another girl asked Sera. "I am so sorry! My name is Minami Keiko!"_

_"Hello, Minami-san. If you need help, please contact me via XXX-XXX-XXXX…" Sera said as she quickly wrote her cell phone and email down on a cute stationary paper before giving it to Keiko who squealed._

_"Thank you so much! You're saving my life! My worst subject is English, but I know that with you, I will definitely pass!" The girl ran back to her desk and grinned at Sera. "We will be great friends, Shin-san!" Sera smiled back at the girl._

* * *

_"Sera-chan!" Mai said as she sat next to the purple-haired girl. "You take the bus?"_

_Sera flushed. "Err…starting today, I have decided to take the bus…"_

_Mai chuckled at the embarrassed girl. "Mou! I am just asking you a question…I won't bite your head off!" She teased Sera who blushed even more before nodding her head a few times. "So, did you get home safely yesterday?"_

* * *

_"Wait…so Kimura lied that he was gonna take you to the main gate…" Keiko said to Sera who nodded while Mai twiddled with her thumbs. "Then…he tried to do H-things to you…then, Kirihara…the__Kirihara and a few regulars scared him off…" Once again, Sera nodded to Keiko who squealed out loud. "That's__soooo__exciting!" She laughed out loud._

_Sera chuckled while Mai snorted. "Calm down, Keiko-chan! You're gonna tell the whole school!" Mai admonished her loud and obnoxious friend. Sera merely smiled and continued to enjoy the breeze that blew over the three girls on top of the rooftop garden. "Besides, if Kirihara's fan club finds out, they're gonna blow Sera's head off!" Mai reminded Keiko who paused before gulping._

_"…they're scary…" Keiko whispered before curling up into a ball._

_Sera and Mai glanced at each other before laughing at Keiko who looked very confused._

* * *

_"That's so cool," Sera said with a smile. "Hehe…everyone's so diverse…I like that."_

_Mai nodded. "Yeah, that means we aren't weirdoes who go like __Kyaa! Kyaa! It's Yukimura-sempai!__"_

_"Yeah, yeah! Or something like:__Oh my god! It's Niou-kun! Niou-kun, you're soooo cute!__" Keiko added fastidiously._

* * *

"Ouch!"

Sera rubbed her head as she looked up at the person who knocked her down.

_Eh?_

"Akaya-kun?" Sera said in disbelief as she looked at her classmate who was also rubbing his head with a painful expression on his face.

"Sera-chan?"

"What are you doing here?" Both of them asked each other at the same time.

Sera blushed while Akaya looked away and covered his mouth with the back of his hand to hide his red face.

"You first," Akaya insisted as he looked down at the girl with a soft gaze.

"Err…I had music practice today…for the cultural festival," She said as she slowly raised her head to look up at Akaya who scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"O-Oh! I see!" He said hastily.

"What about you, Akaya-kun?"

"Hmm?"

He looked at her questioning.

"Were you staying late for tennis practice?"

"Ah yeah…Mura-buchou and the others are probably at the main gate…I had to run back to get something."

"Oh I see."

"Yup."

Awkward silence set in between the two of them again.

"U-Um...Akaya-kun..."

Akaya looked at the purple haired girl.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you...for the photo..." Sera said as she looked to the side to hide her red face.

Akaya chuckled lightly, scratching his head softly. "U-Uh yeah...it was nothing..."

Sera smiled at him before she started to walk away.

"H-Hey!" Akaya called out to her.

She turned around. "Yes?"

"U-Uh we _are _heading in the same direction...so let's go together," Akaya offered her with a bashful look on his face.

Sera tilted her head to the side before nodding in agreement.

She smiled. "Okay!"

Akaya's face slowly broke into a childish grin. He ran up to her, and the two began to walk side by side to Rikkai's main gate to leave the school.

Sera twiddled her fingers absentmindedly.

On her side, Akaya's fingers were twitching...he did not like the silence...he was the type of person who liked to run and jump around...not like Marui-senpai, but he did like to be active and not stay in one spot for the majority of the time.

Clearing his throat, he spoke. "Err...how's music club?"

Sera looked at Akaya in surprise as they continued walking. He remembered that she was in the music club?

He tilted his head to the side at the lack of response.

"Ah...sorry..." Sera apologized.

"Uhum."

"Practice is good, so far...Morika-sempai wants all of us to be prepared since apparently, we lost face to Hyotei Academy last year," Sera said as she continued to stare at the path ahead of her to avoid looking at Kirihara. Whenever she looked at him, she felt like she wanted to watch him all of the time. That thought alone made her feel like a stalker, so she tried to remain as reserved as possible.

Akaya grunted to signal that he was listening to her.

"I...I want to prove that our music club is as good as theirs," Sera said firmly, making Akaya look at her in surprise.

He stopped walking which made her stop, too.

"Akaya-kun? Is there something wrong?"

"No...it's just..."

Sera tilted her head to the side like a curious puppy.

"Its just what?"

Akaya looked at Sera's face, taking in the way her eyes glinted in the sun.

"Well...you just sounded so passionate...unlike that one time at your house..."

Sera looked at him questioningly.

"Is that...strange?" She asked quietly.

Akaya gulped as he noticed the somewhat sad look on her face that he remembered from the time he met her mother at her house.

"Umm...no no!" He protested as his arms flailed around wildly to try and make a point which it failed to do.

Pfft.

Akaya stopped moving his arms, and he looked at the purple haired girl who was giggling.

"Sera-chan?"

Sera covered her mouth as she tried to contain her giggles.

"Haha...I am sorry, Akaya-kun...it's just..."

He looked at her weirdly. "It's just what?"

She smiled softly at him. "You _are _right..."

"Eh?"

"My mother...she makes me nervous..."

He inwardly winced as he saw the painful expression on her face.

"I...I feel like...I do not do good enough..."

"Sera -"

"...but..."

Her expression hardened as a determined look took over her face and confidence filled her aura. She turned and looked at him straight in the eyes. Gold clashed with green in that moment.

"I will continue on...because music is my passion..."

His breath hitched as he could feel his heart beginning to beat erratically against his chest.

_What?_

"I guess...the best way to put it is like this...I love music like how you love tennis," Sera said with a smile on her face as she looked at Akaya before flicking her gaze toward the slowly setting sun.

"Ne, Akaya-kun?"

"..."

"Akaya-kun?"

"..."

"Akaya-kun?" She poked his shoulder.

Akaya twitched before he looked at her.

"Oh! Sorry!" He put his head down before looking at her closely. Was she going to ignore him now like she did last time?

Sera chuckled, taking him by surprise.

"Ne, ne...shall we present our project first so we can both continue on with our original schedules?" Sera proposed as the two started walking again.

Akaya frowned as he thought about it. He was glad that he finished the English project from hell...if they presented it first, then that would mean they would not be able to meet anymore...He would have no reason to go see her...He did not want to stop seeing her even though they were classmates who sat next to each other all of the time...

"Akaya-kun?" Sera leaned in to look at the green eyed boy who seemed like he was contemplating something important.

"I don't know..." He managed to mumble out.

Sera blinked in confusion. Did she actually manage to make Akaya fall in love with Shakespeare?

"**Akaya!**"

The boy and the girl turned in the direction of the voice and saw the tennis regulars perched against the wall of the main gate of the school.

"Hello, Shin-san," Yukimura greeted the girl with a sweet smile.

Sera shivered as she remembered that evil smile that Niou used when he was disguised as Yukimura.

"Hi, Yukimura-san..." Sera said awkwardly.

"Mura-buchou, sorry I took so long..." Akaya apologized as he jogged up to his teammates.

"It's alright," Yukimura inclined his head.

Akaya grinned.

"...um...I will be leaving now, Akaya-kun..." Sera said as she moved to walk away from the tennis regulars. She turned back to look at them. "Goodbye."

After she was a considerable distance away, Niou elbowed Akaya in the chest.

"You should have offered to walk her home, brat," Niou said as he grinned while looking at the pained Akaya who was clutching the side of his stomach.

"Niou-senpai!" Akaya whined.

"Now, now, Niou...don't tease our dear Akaya," Yukimura chimed gently with a hint of a dark smile.

"Yeah, yeah!"

Jackal sighed and shook his head.

Marui blew a bubble before he popped it.

Yagyuu fixed his glasses.

Sanada continued to walk forward with his stern mask on his face.

Yanagi walked forward with a blank face.

Akaya's face scrunched as he thought about Sera. His thoughts traveled back to the moment when she smiled at him without blushing or looking away.

_"I guess...the best way to put it is like this...I love music like how you love tennis," Sera said with a smile on her face as she looked at Akaya before flicking her gaze toward the slowly setting sun._

He slowly raised his hand to his chest.

_What...is this? _

* * *

**The next day**

"So...The Merchant of Venice portrays a strong sense of distaste toward...Jewish people?" Mai asked Sera who nodded before she quickly read over Mai's paper.

"Yes...Shylock, the money lender, is stripped of his money and possessions after he tried to take payment from his customers..." Sera explained to Mai who wrote down what Sera said on a pink sticky note.

"Uh huh..."

"So what about you, Keiko-chan?"

"Eh?"

"Do you need any help?"

Keiko chuckled nervously. "Uh...ha ha ha...no it's okay!" She put her hands up and made a "No way" motion.

"Okay," Sera said with a smile.

"Hey, Sera-chan?" Mai asked the smiling girl after she placed her pen on her lap.

"Hm? Yeah?"

"Do you or do you not like Kirihara-san?"

"Eh?" Keiko looked at Sera and then at Mai.

"Where is this coming from?" Sera asked as she cocked her head to the side. She did not see the importance of whether or not she liked Akaya. They were friends, and friends liked each other...right?

"…I want to know…" Mai bit out.

"Eh?"

"Please…"

Sera frowned. "I…I…don't know…"

"So…you mean…there is a chance…you do like him?" Mai asked the purple haired girl slowly.

"I don't understand..."

"Do you have feelings for Kirihara?" Mai said bluntly.

Sera's face scrunched up. "W-Well...Akaya-kun and I are friends...friends are supposed to like each other...right?"

Keiko's face fell.

_Really...this girl...someone slap her or something..._

Mai looked at Sera with an unreadable expression.

"Mai-chan?"

Mai shook her head. "Mm...nothing..."

"Ehhhhhh? Could it be..._you _like Akaya-kun?" Sera asked her friend innocently.

Mai blushed and she started to move her hands frantically. "...no way, no way! I would never like a guy like Kirihara who is obsessed with tennis!"

Sera blinked like an owl with her big bright eyes.

"It's okay, Mai-chan..."

"Huh?"

Sera smiled brightly at Mai. "I like Akaya-kun, too! He's a really good friend."

Mai stared at the girl. She could feel her heart dropping...

_What...is this feeling? _

* * *

**English **

"Hello, students!" Nakamura-sensei said happily as she looked over her students' faces.

"Good afternoon, Nakamura-sensei!" The students chorused together loudly.

"Are you guys ready?"

"Yes" and "No" filled the classroom as some students grumbled about how they had to present while others were excited to get their project over with and out of the way.

"Would anyone like to volunteer?"

Silence set in as the students stared at their partners.

Nakamura-sensei's eyebrows furrowed as no one raised their hands to volunteer.

"Well…we can do this the old fashioned way…"

Sera bit her lip and looked at Akaya.

"Akaya-kun…"

The black haired boy looked at her with a kicked puppy look.

Sera's eyes hardened.

She raised her hand.

"I will go first, sensei," Sera said as she stood up from her desk.

On her side, Akaya sighed and shook his head before getting up from his desk, too.

"The Shakespearean play that we chose to center our project around was Hamlet," Sera said as she looked at her classmates.

"The play was about Hamlet Jr. who is a prince that is trying to…avenge his father's death," Akaya said after Sera stopped talking.

"Yup. Hamlet Jr.'s plan is to raise his sword against his uncle, Claudius, who killed his father in order to become king," Sera continued where Akaya left off.

"There are c-complications, because…Hamlet's mother Ger…Gertrude marries his uncle after his father dies…" Akaya struggled.

_Damn, I hate English, _Akaya thought to himself as he bit his tongue harshly.

"There are many themes and motifs that were explored in the play. First of all, there is the impossibility of certainty where Hamlet tries to make certain that his uncle killed his father…it also is related to the complexity regarding a lack of action among characters," Sera explained carefully so that her classmates could understand her.

"His feelings of frustration and betrayal at his mother's hasty marriage result in his strong dislike for women," Akaya said to collaborate with Sera.

"The concept of misogyny in the play is exemplified by lines like_ Fraility, thy name is women _that attack feminism," Sera said to support Akaya's claim.

"Even so, Hamlet Jr. was a character of great character," Akaya said.

Sera nodded.

"Hamlet Jr. was not only a prince and a future king, but he was also a son who had to fulfill his filial duties…which included raising his sword against the one man who killed his father. His uncle."

"His duty to his father was one of his greatest assets, and so was his love for his mother who married his uncle to protect him."

"So, Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's most celebrated plays and title character…"

Silence.

Nakamura-sensei smiled before clapping her hands which prompted the rest of the class to follow, as well.

* * *

**After Class**

"Good job, Sera-chan!"

"Yeah, great job!"

Sera smiled at Mai and Keiko.

"Thank you, girls."

Mai and Keiko smiled back at her.

"No problem!" Keiko waved her hands in the "It's okay" gesture which looked like she was moving her arm like a snake that was wriggling around.

"Ah."

"You girls did well, too," Sera said as the three girls walked toward the music department.

"Haha! Not as well as you and Kirihara!" Mai laughed.

Sera blushed as she recalled what happened about ten minutes ago.

_"Good job to everyone who presented today," Nakamura-sensei said as she stood at the front of the class. _

_"Before class ends, I would like to congratulate Shin-san and Kirihara-san for their well-thought and organized presentation about Hamlet…"_

_"Right now, they have the highest score of 195/200 for the project, so good job!" _

_Nakamura-sensei clapped and so did the rest of the class while Akaya sighed in relief that he got an A. _

_Sera smiled lightly. _

_It's finally over, Sera thought to herself. _

_Akaya looked at Sera before he poked her to get her attention. _

_"Thanks," He said with a bashful smile. _

_Sera could feel her face getting heated as their eyes continued to stare at each other. _

"…"

"Shin-san!"

Sera, Mai, and Keiko looked up to see Morika and Harumi walking down the hall toward them.

"Did you present today?" Morika asked her kohai.

Sera nodded.

"That's good!" Morika smiled.

Sera smiled back at her sempai.

"You can focus on piano practice a lot more," Morika said as she approached the three girls with Harumi at her side.

"Yes," Sera said affirmatively.

Harumi stared at Mai and Keiko who suddenly felt uncomfortable with the blank stare from the viola player.

"Erm…we will be going now," Mai said awkwardly as she tugged on Keiko's sleeves.

"Oh…okay. Goodbye, Mai-chan and Keiko-chan! See you tomorrow!"

"Ah…you too, Sera-chan!"

"Let's go, Shin-san."

"Yes!"

* * *

**Music Department**

Melodious notes filled the air in the music room labeled MUSIC ROOM #3 as Sera's finger skillfully skidded off the keys as she played Chopin's Etude Number 3.

The chorus elevated swiftly in smooth repetition every time before the sounds rose in higher succession. She hit the notes perfectly each time, creating a symphony of musical notes unlike a cacophony of disastrous notes that she used to when she first started learning how to play the piano from Lee-sensei.

Morika smiled as she watched Sera practiced. Her head nodded as she thought of all the ways Sera could help their music club rise in glory. The girl's piano skills were amazing, indeed.

On Morika's side, Harumi also watched the girl perform. Her eyes focused on the way Sera's fingers pressed against the keys lightly and harshly to create the sounds to the piece that she was playing.

Music continued to echo throughout the room before it spilled into the hall briefly as Morika and Harumi walked out of Music Room #3.

"Morika-sempai," Harumi said as she stared blankly at the music club president.

"Yes?"

"Do you know that Shin-san has been receiving threatening letters?" Harumi asked bluntly.

Morika's eyes did not widen; she did not even bat an eyelid. She merely fluttered her lashes.

"I know."

Harumi's eyes hardened.

"Sempai…why have you not done anything?"

Morika sighed.

"I know that the letters are from Kirihara-san's fan girls…They have not created any trouble for Shin-san _yet _so I will remain out of it until then," Morika said as she continued to gaze into the practice room where Sera was playing Chopin's pieces with ease.

"If you don't put your foot down now, those fan girls might tear apart Shin-san," Harumi argued.

Morika raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you did not like the girl, Harumi-san."

Harumi bit her bottom lip in frustration. It was true she did not like the girl, but the girl was good for the music club, and whatever was good for the music club…

"She is an important part of the club."

Morika sighed before walking to a window and looking out of it to see the blue sky.

"I know…"

Harumi followed Morika.

"Sempai?"

"It is such a beautiful day today…the sky is so clear…it is a good omen, no?"

Harumi frowned.

* * *

_Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer. _

"Shin Sera?"

"She is the new transfer student, Otsuki-sama."

Otsuki Aika, second year student at Rikkai and self-proclaimed princess, narrowed her eyes at the mention of the new girl.

"She is the girl who is trying to steal Kirihara-sama from me?"

The three figures in front of her nodded before they bowed.

Otsuki tsk'ed. She stood up and walked to her bedroom window before pulling back the black curtains.

"I am going to make sure that bitch suffers for trying to steal Kirihara-sama while I was in rehab."

_Even so,__our most dangerous enemies are the ones we never knew we had._

* * *

**Your thoughts? **


	12. Proximity Hurts

**Hello, readers! Thanks to the people who read, reviewed, and put Tugging On My Heartstrings onto their Favorite and Follow lists. **

**Please enjoy Chapter 12!**

* * *

_Bright sunlight filtered through the large room as a soft, gentle breeze blew which caused the cream-colored curtains to flutter around helplessly like leaves on a cold autumn day. _

_Chocolate brown eyes narrowed to focus on the image of the purple haired girl playing a Chopin musical piece on the beautiful piano forte located in the center of the room. The brown eyes widened as the girl who was playing the song swiftly and successfully pulled off the chorus and executed a series of complicated musical notes that fluttered throughout the room like butterflies taking flight. _

_Suddenly, amber eyes snapped up and looked into the mirror located on the opposite side of the wall that reflected against the other mirrors in the room. Amber eyes and brown eyes made contact for a couple of seconds before the brown eyed boy with gray hair ran away out of embarrassment. _

"_Who was he?" The purple haired girl asked Lee-sensei as he walked over to stand beside her with his arms crossed._

_Lee-sensei chuckled. "Are you worried, my protégé?" _

_Sera frowned. "No, but I am curious." _

"_Haha! Of course! He is another of my music students…he studies at Hyotei Gakuen Kindergarten." _

"_Ah, okay!"_

* * *

"Niou, Marui! Twenty laps for being late!" Sanada bellowed out as Niou and Marui walked onto the tennis courts. Both regulars groaned before they started running their laps. It was best _not_ to argue with Sanada when he was in a foul mood…which was **every day**.

Yukimura chuckled as he watched Sanada give out orders to the club members.

_Sanada, today you are on fire, _Yukimura remarked to himself with a mischievous smile on his angelic face.

Yanagi stood to the side and merely watched while jotting down data into his small black notebook.

Yukimura turned to Yanagi. "How is Akaya?"

Yanagi did not blink as he replied in his normal monotone voice. "Akaya is doing fine although he feels confused about Shin-san."

"Confused?" Sanada repeated. "Tarundoru!"

Yukimura sighed before turning his body to look at the curly haired boy running laps.

"Akaya does not want to stop meeting Shin-san, but he feels that he has no reason or an excuse, as he put it, to see her like he did before," Yanagi continued speaking about the matter.

"Hm…I see…" Yukimura said thoughtfully.

As if it were the power of fate, Akaya finished his laps and jogged to his senpais.

"Buchou, I am done with my laps," Akaya chirped dutifully.

_What a good boy, _Yukimura thought fondly.

"Akaya," Sanada drawled out causing the sophomore to tense.

"Yes, fukubuchou?" Akaya stuttered nervously. Was Sanada going to punish him? He didn't do anything wrong today to damage the pride of the tennis club.

Yukimura gently placed a hand on Sanada's shoulder to signal that he was going to take care of the matter.

Reluctantly, Sanada stepped aside for Yukimura who smiled benevolently at Akaya which caused the boy to perk up.

"I heard that your English presentation with Shin-san went well," Yukimura said with his ever angelic smile on his face.

Akaya's head bobbed continuously like a bobble head on display that could not and would not stop shaking, because the wheels were in motion.

"I got an A!" Akaya excitedly said.

"My, my…that _is _good news…right, Genichiro?"

"Yes," Sanada responded while he tugged his cap.

"What about Shin-san? How is _she _doing?"

Akaya froze and his smile disappeared. A deep frown covered his face as he looked at the ground in disappointment.

"Akaya?"

The boy in question looked up and tilted his head to the side.

"Buchou, I-I…"

"Hmm? What is it, Akaya?"

Yanagi looked at his kohai.

"Akaya, you can tell us."

Sanada looked at the second year ace.

"Akaya, tarundoru!"

Akaya rubbed his hands together nervously. He hesitantly raised his head.

"I-I…want to keep seeing Sera-chan…but it would be _weird_…"

"How so, Akaya?" Yukimura asked pleasantly.

"W-Well…" Akaya twiddled with his fingers. "I don't want to bother her…especially since her mother is anti me sometimes…or against all guys in general…"

"Even so, you and Shin-san are _friends_, right?" Yukimura questioned good naturedly.

Akaya paused as if he was in thought.

The three demons of Rikkai looked at their kohai curiously.

_Mura-buchou is right…Sera-chan and I are friends…friends hang out from time to time, _Akaya reasoned to himself, connecting the dots slowly in order to make sure he had the right idea. _Right?_

"Sera-chan is my first girl friend!" Akaya declared with a grin.

Niou and Marui who were jogging by the four figures paused when they heard Akaya's declaration.

_Girl friend? Does he mean girl+friend=girlfriend? _

_This idiot! Does he even know what he is implying?_

"She helps me a lot," He continued while tapping a finger against his chin. "I…I don't want to stop hanging out with her…" He whined.

"Then why don't you ask her to continue helping you with homework as a way to keep spending time with her?" Yukimura suggested kindly. "I am sure she would not mind."

Akaya blinked cutely before he started to vigorously shake his head.

"That's a great idea, Mura-buchou!"

* * *

"Oh my…"

Sera looked at the pile of hate mail from Kirihara fan girls.

**Slut! Go die!**

**Whore! W-H-O-R-E!**

**S! S! S! S! S! You whore!**

**Leave Kirihara-sama alone!**

There was a particular envelope that stood out to Sera as it was perfumed and written in nice cursive handwriting.

**Shin Sera, **

**I am giving you a choice. Leave Kirihara Akaya alone before I chase you out of Rikkai. **

**-Princess of Rikkai **

**7/30/2013**

Sera folded the letter neatly and placed it back in the scented envelope. She frowned.

_This is getting out of control, _Sera thought with a grim look on her pretty face. She had not checked her locker for a few days. She did not think that the letters would increase this much.

"Shin-san."

Sera turned around.

"Morika-sempai! Harumi-san!"

The two girls stepped into the room and closed the door shut.

Harumi raised her eyebrows at the pile of letters on the table.

"More fan mail?" Harumi mused sarcastically.

Sera sighed. "Yes."

Morika frowned. "No one has tried to hurt you, right?"

Sera shook her head.

Morika sighed in relief. "That's good to hear."

"What should I do? I don't know…" Sera trailed off.

"Shin-san, you are getting the letters…"

"Because I am close to Akaya-kun."

Morika nodded.

"Being a friend to the second year ace of the tennis club is dangerous. It is possible that things may escalate…are you sure you want to go on like this?" The music club president asked as she looked at the purple haired girl sharply.

"Sempai…I…I always listened to what other people told me to do…I don't know how to choose…if I were at the store, I would have someone pick clothes for me, because I don't know how to choose for myself…" Sera said as she looked at her peers.

"Shin-san…" Harumi started.

"I know…sometimes I-I am useless as a person since I just play the piano…" Sera said callously. "Even so, this is the first time I know what I want." She continued.

"What is it that you want?" Morika asked curiously with an intense gaze.

Harumi looked at Morika and Sera, glancing back and forth.

"I…I want to continue to stay by Akaya-kun's side as his friend," Sera said solemnly.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"I see."

Harumi looked at her sempai and then her classmate.

"Even if people turn against you…you want to stay as his friend regardless?"

Sera nodded her head.

Morika sighed before she smiled.

"Okay," She said as she raked a hand through her thick frizzy hair.

_Beep. Beep. Beep. _

Sera took out her cell phone and looked at her screen. It was a text message from Akaya.

**To: Shin**

**Busy? I want to talk with you…**

**~Kirihara~**

"Who is it?" Morika asked Sera.

"Akaya-kun…" Sera breathed out.

Harumi looked at Sera. "Text him."

Sera winced at Harumi's stern voice, but she figured maybe that was how Harumi always sounded, so she tried not to take it personally. Quickly she responded.

**From: XXX-XXX-XXXX**

**Kinda**

**~Shin~**

Not even a minute later, she received his reply.

**To: Shin**

**Wait for me today? I want to go to café with you again.**

**~Kirihara~**

She frowned and started typing.

**From: XXX-XXX-XXXX**

**Gotta go straight home**

**~Shin~**

On the rooftop garden, Akaya puffed his cheeks.

**To: Shin**

**Where are you? **

**~Kirihara~**

Sera's eyes widened. _Is he serious?_

**To: Shin**

**I am coming to see you!**

**~Kirihara~**

_He is serious!_

**From: XXX-XXX-XXXX**

**Music department. Umm meet you at library? **

**~Shin~**

He responded with _Okay_.

"Kirihara?" Harumi asked to which Sera nodded to confirm her thoughts.

Morika cleared her throat. "As I was saying…no matter what you choose, we will stand by your side."

Sera smiled. "Thank you, sempai."

Morika shook her head. "It is okay…I am just doing my duty as the music club president to protect her members."

"So, what did he say?"

"He wants to meet at the library…"

"Well, you better go."

"Okay!"

Sera left the music room and walked toward the library. She walked off so quickly she did not notice the figure standing at the corner with a cell phone in hand. The figure started to text a message.

**Shin Sera is going to meet Kirihara-sama at the lib.**

Outside the library, Sera stood under a tree to get out of the sun. She tugged her bow. Today was pretty hot.

_Splash!_

Her amber eyes blinked a few times before she realized she was drenched from head to toe with a sky blue paint.

Wary eyes looked at the wet girl.

"Sorry~ I thought I saw a green trashcan!" A girl cheerily shouted up from above the building.

Sera looked up and saw an unknown girl holding a bucket with the same sky blue paint that was poured on her. Around her, there were about five girls with sneers on their faces.

The girl began to snort like a pig, and soon, laughter broke out as the students present began to join in the laughing.

Sera froze as she felt her face burning with embarrassment and shame.

_Oh my god, _Sera thought as she slowly raised her hands to her pale cheeks.

"Sera-chan!"

Sera turned and saw Akaya looking at her with his green eyes. She turned away, feeling embarrassed. She did not want him or anyone else to see her like this…so she averted her eyes from his.

Akaya looked at the girl who seemed dyed with sky blue paint before he slowly approached her. Her amber eyes flickered and looked at him warily, expecting him to laugh at her like everyone else did.

"**Shut up!" **Akaya shouted loudly which caused the laughing to cease as his shout echoed throughout the quad area.

Sera's eyes widened.

The girls above the building blinked and watched in horror as Akaya took off his green blazer and draped it around the purple haired girl who blinked at him in surprise.

_Call us old school. But sometimes the fairy tale requires the knight to get off his ass and saddle up his steed._

"Akaya-kun?"

Akaya smiled softly at Sera before he tugged her along to the infirmary to get her changed out of her wet clothes. The students in the area stared at the two as they walked away.

Otsuki Aika and her lackeys bristled in anger as their beloved Kirihara-sama walked off with the new girl.

"Akaya-kun…" Sera mumbled as the boy continued to tug her along. He glanced back at her before stopping in front of a giant tree by the tennis courts.

Akaya placed his hands on her shoulders, causing her to look at him with her big doe like eyes.

"Sera-chan, are you okay?" He asked her with a worried look.

Sera blinked. _Huh? _

He shook her shoulders gently.

"Did those girls hurt you?"

_Sniff. Sniff._

Akaya paused as he saw the tears fall from her face. He went into panic mode again.

"Sera-chan! Please, don't cry! I will get revenge for you! Please, please! Smile!" He begged as he shook her more vigorously.

He paused again when she looked up at him and smiled weakly.

"It's okay…" She whispered softly.

"I-I am…okay…" Yet, as she said that, more tears fell from her eyes. She covered her mouth with her hand and sobbed into her hand to muffle her cries which were threatening to spill.

Akaya grit his teeth and pulled her into his arms, caging her smaller body with his larger one.

"Please, I am your friend…I want to help you…I want to keep hanging out with you and doing homework together…going to the café and laughing about silly things…" He said as he pet her hair gently.

Sera sobbed. "Today…this was the first time they have done something…"

Akaya pulled back with a shocked look on his face. "What?"

Sera wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I…I don't want to stop seeing you either…it's fun…w-with you even though…I know I _shouldn't _be…" She started but stopped as she saw Akaya's eyes which were filled with a look of incredulousness.

Akaya hugged her again. He pulled her closer and closed his eyes, taking in Sera's scent. _Honeysuckle…_

"It's okay…I am here for you…we are friends, right?"

Tears threatening to spill once again, Sera shook her head against his. Yeah, they were friends. Even so, she did not know how to deal with this…at the private schools in England, there was no bullying, because there was a strict policy against it. If someone bullied someone else, there were expelled from the private school. It was as simple and easy as that, but here in Japan, it was different for her. She was never picked on before. She was always safe. Today's event shocked her so much. Girls were so vicious to each other.

_Is it a sin for me to want to stay by your side as a friend? _

Her small hands slowly reached up to hug him.

Akaya's eyes widened a fraction as he felt her hands encircle him. For a moment, he thought she was going to push him away since she always seemed so conservative. In this moment, it was as if she was letting him in…

"You know…I don't want to stop hanging out…it's fun with you…" Akaya said softly. "Do you feel the same, too?"

Sera bit her lip and nodded her head, signifying that she did enjoy her time with the curly haired boy.

_I am but a stupid, useless doll. I have no mind. I listen to people and that is what I do best. I do not know how to make choices for myself. _

_When I returned to Japan, choosing this school was my first choice. Meeting you has made me see…there are things out there that I want to experience…going to the amusement park…hanging out with friends…doing silly things…_

_This is the first time in a long time…that I do not want to give something up…_

_I am useless. I can play piano and speak a few languages. That is it. Will you be able to accept me as me then? Someone like me who is unable to be pretty or beautiful and passionate about different things? _

_I…I want to hold onto our friendship…_

_Is it a sin?_

* * *

**Saturday at the local shopping mall**

Morika took a sip of her sweet iced tea while Harumi picked at her salad and Sera ate her maple oatmeal slowly.

"Are you alright, Shin-san?" Morika asked her kohai.

She and Harumi heard about Sera's accident a few hours after the incident occurred from Rio. Morika felt bad, because she thought she jinxed the poor girl.

Sera smiled at her sempai. "Please call me Sera, Morika-sempai."

Morika frowned. "Are you sure?"

Sera nodded. "Yes! You and Harumi-san have been so helpful to me."

Harumi looked at the purple haired girl while chewing a piece of lettuce. The girl was taking it well considering the fact that Otsuki Aika, the most self-centered girl at Rikkai, had dropped sky blue paint on her in front of almost everyone including Kirihara Akaya.

"Okay." :/

"Yay!" ^-^

"So, are you really okay?" Morika asked again.

Sera looked down at her oatmeal and began to pick at it.

"Mmh, I am okay now…" Sera said as she played with a raisin. "I…was so…devastated…"

Morika reached out and squeezed Sera's hand to encourage her.

"I have never been singled out before…because of my mother…Otsuki-san surprised me; that was all…"

Harumi frowned. "Otsuki is a bitch."

"How blunt of you," Morika mused as she eyed Harumi with amusement.

Harumi huffed and looked away.

Sera giggled. "Harumi-san is just being Harumi-san."

"So…" Harumi picked at her straw now. "How are you and Kirihara?"

"Eh?" Sera looked at Harumi in surprise.

Morika looked at Sera, too.

"We heard that he came to your rescue."

Sera's eyes widened and a blush appeared on her face.

"…" She pulled back a loose strand of her from her face and pushed it behind her ear.

Morika smiled at her kohai.

"Sera-chan~…"

"You can tell us," Harumi said to Sera.

"Yeah," Morika added in.

Sera looked between Harumi and Morika before taking a deep breath.

"Hegavemehisblazerandthenhehuggedme!" Sera said quickly before she placed a hand over her chest.

Morika's eyes widened while Harumi choked on her water.

The three girls looked at each other for a while before they broke out into laughter. Harumi tried to hide her laughter while Morika and Sera ignored the weird looks sent their way.

"He…made me feel better…" Sera said softly with a distant look in her eyes.

Morika placed her chin on her hands and looked at Sera.

_Do you know how much of a woman in love you look like? _

Harumi glanced at Sera.

"Okay, Sera-chan…"

Sera grinned at her. "Yes, Harumi-chan?"

Harumi's eyes hardened. "Harumi-chan? I never gave you permission to call me that."

"I let you call me Sera-chan, so I should get to call you Harumi-chan, too!" Sera said happily. She was glad she had more friends now. She thought Harumi hated her, but she was always around to lend a hand or something.

Harumi raised an eyebrow.

Morika looked at Harumi and raised her eyebrow.

Cursing under her breath, Harumi agreed. "Fine." =.=

"Yay!" Sera cheered. ^_^

_Life isn't a fairy tale, and happy endings are few and far between._

* * *

**Your thoughts? **


End file.
